Rural Manitoba home to top five speeding spots: study

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This article was published 04/08/2023 (1036 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance hopes its latest study, which found the top five spots for Manitoba speeders are in rural areas, will make lead foots think twice this long weekend.

The study revealed Manitoba’s top five speediest spots using data collected during five months in 2022.

The public the insurer studied upwards of 2.3 million drivers at more than 50 urban and rural locations to assess their speeding behaviour.

All top five locations were in rural Manitoba, including two highways. The study found that nearly 100,000 vehicles travelled 10 km/h or more above the posted speed limit.

“We know that speeds kills and continues to be one of the major contributors to all collisions that happen every year,” said Satvir Jatana, MPI’s chief customer service officer said in a news release.

“Every driver has a choice when they get behind the wheel — slow down and drive to conditions. MPI encourages everyone to do just that as they enjoy one of the last long weekends of summer.”

A location on the eastbound Trans-Canada Highway, west of Elie in the RM of Cartier, topped the charts. About 38.1 per cent of drivers were caught going 10 km/h or more over the 100 km/h speed limit.

The second location was in Selkirk, on southbound Main Street, south of Young Avenue. Thirty per cent of drivers travelled 10 km/h or more above the 50 km/h speed limit.

Eastbound Inkster Boulevard, east of Bergen Cutoff Road in the RM of Rosser, came in this: 27.2 per cent of drivers were speeding beyond the 70 km/h limit.

Northbound Highway 6, north of Grand Rapids took fourth place with 18.3 per cent of drivers speeding. A 30 km/hr school zone in Brandon took the final spot, with 16.7 per cent of drivers going 10km/h or more over the limit.

Kristy Rydz, MPI’s manager of communications, said the study was conducted in two phases — first, between April to July 2022, and second, between November 2022 and January 2023 — to account for seasonal changes.

The study used small radar devices to capture vehicle speeds across urban, rural and highway locations. No vehicle-identifying data was recorded.

When asked why all top five locations were rural, Rydz said that self-reported MPI data found drivers who live outside urban areas were more likely to consider driving over the speed limit acceptable and reported feeling more comfortable driving at higher speeds.

“Respondents also reported that they felt that the likelihood of being stopped by police for exceeding the speed limit on highways was low,” she said.

In contrast, Winnipeg has dozens of photo radar locations at intersections across the city; it also has mobile photo radar vehicles that patrol parks and school zones.

Rydz said the findings will be used to inform future speed-prevention efforts to tackle regions with high speeding rates.

Per MPI data, 21 per cent of collisions in Manitoba are speed-related. On average, 17 Manitobans are killed by speeding drivers each year.

MPI encourages drivers to pre-plan routes, use cruise control when necessary, maintain a safe distance between vehicles and remember to slow down for emergency vehicles.

cierra.bettens@freepress.mb.ca