Deaths on Manitoba roads drops to lowest number in decades

Manitoba Public Insurance says there were 65 fatal collisions with 73 victims last year, the second lowest number in the past 35 years.

"While it is very positive that road fatalities in 2017 were the second lowest in the last 35 years in Manitoba, the fact that 73 lives were lost is a stark reminder that much work still needs to be done to change the driving culture within our province," said Ward Keith, MPI's chief administrative officer.

The numbers are starkly different from 2016, when 107 deaths were reported, prompting MPI to send out a notice late in October 2016, begging Manitobans to drive more carefully.

The lowest figure in the past 35 years came in 2014, when 68 people died.

While MPI is still crunching numbers and causes, they said driving drunk or high, texting while driving, speeding and not wearing seatbelts were primary factors in road deaths. 

Among the 73 who died, seven motorcyclists and 11 pedestrians were killed. No cyclists died in 2017, said MPI.

MPI has recently launched an awareness campaign to make "safe decisions when it comes to driving after consuming cannabis, and to understand how, similar to alcohol, cannabis and other drugs can impair driving ability."

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