The escalated fatality rate, estimated as the highest in 10 years, brought OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino out to Highway 400 at King Road.

Fantino told CTV News that most of the deaths this past weekend were preventable.

"They should know better. The seatbelt laws have been on the books for 30 years. We all know about the issues of drinking and driving and I just don't understand why people don't embrace this as self-preservation," Fantino said on Monday.

The OPP says there are three main reasons for traffic accidents on the roads, behaviour that all motorists need to be aware of:

• Speeding and aggressive driving
• Not wearing a seat belt
• Driving while impaired

More than 400 people have been killed on Ontario highways this year representing a significant increase from last year's numbers.

Ten die on Ont. roadways over Labour Day weekend

It's been a tragic Labour Day weekend on Ontario roadways as traffic accidents claimed the lives of 10 people.

The latest fatality occurred at 3 a.m. on Sunday when a cyclist collided with a stolen truck in an apparent hit and run accident on Pharmacy Avenue, north of Lawrence.

Det. Wally Watts said the victim has yet to be identified and police are seeking the public's assistance in determining who the man is.

He is described as being a white male in his 40s with curly-brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing black track pants, a black bike helmet, and black Velcro sneakers at the time of the accident.

Also on Sunday, a 42-year-old man died when his vehicle collided with a pole on Sheppard Avenue, near Sentinel Road.

On Saturday night, two people were killed on Highway 169 near Muskoka, Ont., in a head-on collision.

Also on Saturday, a 55-year-old Whitby man was airlifted to Sunnybrook hospital with life-threatening injuries after a utility trailer full of furniture went through the man's windshield.

The accident occurred on Highway 401 near Westney Road in Ajax around 6:45 p.m.

Earlier in the day, a 23-year-old was killed when his motorcycle collided with an SUV in the Milton area.

Two American tourists were killed near London, Ont., on Saturday and six other people were injured in a crash on Highway 402.

Friday fatalities

The weekend carnage began with the death of 25-year-old Jackie Avelar of Brampton, Ont.

The young mother was killed on Highway 401 at Highway 8 near Kitchener, Ont. at 5 a.m. Friday morning in an apparent hit and run.

The woman's car was struck by a tractor-trailer and came to a halt in a live lane on the highway.

After she transferred her three-year-old daughter from the car to a safe area on the shoulder, she returned to the vehicle.

Another transport truck collided with the woman, killing the young mother instantly.

Police have arrested the first transport truck driver.

A 70-year-old woman from Trinidad has been killed and three were taken to hospital with serious injuries in an accident on the Queen Elizabeth Way near St. Catharines, Ont.

Police say the accident occurred when a truck carrying a motorhome went over a barrier on the right side of the highway.

In the third incident on Friday, a 25-year-old man travelling westbound on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto shortly before 11 p.m. on Thursday died when he crashed into the guardrail.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police, more accidents happen during long weekends as motorists hit the road in droves with more of a carefree attitude.

OPP Chief Superintendent Bill Grodzinski told CTV News the majority of accidents that happened over the weekend could have been prevented.

"When you go through them, at least three of them involved alcohol and a number of them involved failure to wear a seat belt and there is aggressive driving in a large number of them," Grodzinski said Sunday.