Stay focused for long weekend drive: MPI

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This article was published 02/09/2021 (1640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province’s most dangerous driving long weekend is on the horizon, Manitoba Public Insurance warns.

On average, MPI fields reports on roughly 800 collisions over the Labour Day weekend, including two deaths and 90 injuries. Distracted driving is the main cause — it was linked to nearly 50 per cent of all fatal crashes and 37 per cent of serious injuries last year, the Crown corporation said.

“We don’t want to be too specific and say everyone is going out to their cottage, but we do know people are taking advantage of it,” MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said Thursday.

Labour Day marks, to many, the unofficial end of summer.

A majority of incidents happen in rural areas, but Winnipeg has its fair share, Smiley said. Friday is the worst, with 37 per cent of collisions; Saturday at 27 per cent; Sunday at 16 per cent; and Monday at 20 per cent.

“If (motorists tend) to be texting while driving or if they’re tending to be talking on their cellphones, they need to have a real self-evaluation of what they’re doing and how they’re putting themselves (and others) at risk,” Smiley said.

Kerry McInnes, 69, has witnessed three accidents due to distracted driving in the past year. Each involved several vehicles and was instigated by a driver using a cellphone.

In late spring, he saw a driver hit a bus and a car at the Polo Park underpass. No one was injured, but there was debris everywhere and traffic was blocked.

“We had to take a considerable amount of skill to avoid her hitting us,” he said.

When it comes to long weekends, McInnes plans around rush hours. “I might delay my time or go on a time frame where there’s less traffic and try to avoid (collisions).”

Distracted driving is anything that diverts attention from driving — including talking to passengers or being on a phone, Smiley said.

People charged with distracted driving face five demerits, and if a phone is involved, there’s a $672 fine and three-day licence suspension.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca