Comox Valley RCMP are out with warning for drivers after what they call a troubling number of serious motor vehicle collisions across the Valley.

That includes crashes resulting in life-altering injuries and fatalities. Police are urging all road users to slow down, stay focused, and exercise patience behind the wheel.

Since the beginning of June, Comox Valley RCMP officers have investigated collisions involving excessive speed, impaired driving, failure to yield, running stop signs, unsafe left turns, following too closely, fatigue, and drivers simply not paying enough attention to what was happening around them.

Multiple crashes occurred when drivers attempted left turns across traffic and misjudged approaching vehicles.

Others resulted from drivers failing to stop at stop signs, rear-ending vehicles that had slowed or stopped ahead of them, or losing control after travelling too fast for road conditions.

One person was killed last month in a head-on collision at Ryan Road and Back Road - investigators believe it was due to an unsafe left turn.

A 12-year-old boy also sustained serious injuries in a collision at Piercy Road and the Inland Island Highway – he remains in hospital.

Evidence suggests one vehicle was turning left when it was struck by an oncoming vehicle.

Impaired driving also continues to be a concern.

During a single afternoon on June 18, officers investigated two separate collisions that resulted in roadside driving prohibitions and vehicle impoundments.

In addition to collision investigations, officers continue to encounter excessive speeding throughout the region. In recent weeks, officers stopped drivers travelling 105 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, 139 km/h in an 80 km/h zone, and 163 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.

“Many of these collisions were preventable,” said Const. Brad Landers, Comox Valley RCMP Municipal Traffic Unit.

“We’re seeing the same behaviours repeatedly: speeding, impatience, impairment, distraction, and drivers taking unnecessary risks. Whether you’re travelling across town or heading out on a summer road trip, a moment of poor judgment can have lifelong consequences.”

Officers will continue conducting traffic enforcement throughout the Comox Valley in both marked and unmarked police vehicles.