The Ontario Provincial Police are cracking down on dangerous drivers and unsafe vehicles during the long weekend, and have already pulled over hundreds of cars.
Driver Brad Moore was on his way to the cottage, but had barely left Toronto before officers inspected his vehicle.
"Some things you don't see and you should check, like brake lines," he said. "Make sure nothing's rubbing, make sure your tires are in good shape."
An officer found that aside from problems with the brake lines, the load was not properly secured.
"This is definitely the first weekend to go to the cottage, so they're trying to make one trip with everything," said Colin Shewell of the Ministry of Transportation.
Const. Clayton Brown said many drivers are rushing to get to their destination, and driving too close to other cars in front of them.
"Everyone is so focused on where they're going to, so I find that what you get is a little frustration, because they want that little bit of distance to get where they're going sooner," he said of widespread tailgating.
While the volume of traffic is lower this weekend because of the weather, the number of dangerous driving violations appears to be high. In the first 24 hours of the OPP blitz, which began Friday, 47 drivers were charged under street racing legislation.
The new law allows officers to suspend driver's licences for a week and impound vehicles on the spot for those caught driving more that 50 km/h over the posted speed limit or stunt driving.
During last year's Victoria Day holiday weekend, officers laid more than 10,000 charges during the blitz, and 80 per cent of those were for speeding.
With a report from CTV's MairiAnna Bachynsky
