In announcing the annual Canada Road Safety Week campaign, Manitoba RCMP say fatal collisions are up so far in 2022.
The Mounties say they responded to 71 fatal collisions in 2021, and already this year, there are 26 people who have died on Manitoba roadways in RCMP jurisdiction. In Winnipeg Police Service jurisdiction, 9 people died on the roads in 2021, and 6 so far this year.
“We need to be honest: this is not about education anymore,” said Insp. Joe Telus, Officer in Charge of RCMP Traffic Services. “People know to avoid high-risk driving behaviours. They know to slow down, buckle up, pay attention to the road, and drive sober. At this point, it is time to realize this is about people making choices, and some of those choices have cost people their lives.”
Lives can change in the matter of an instant, and both the RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service want to ask everyone who drives a motor vehicle to take that instant to make a safe choice, so a police officer isn’t knocking on your door telling your loved ones you are not coming home.
Slow down, buckle up, pay attention to the road, and drive sober. We’re all in this together, let’s keep everyone safe.