SASKATOON – It was a tragic Canada Day long weekend on Saskatchewan roads with six fatalities since Friday.
On Saturday, a motorcycle and car collided on Highway 11, sending the motorcyclist to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The crash was one of three serious collisions involving motorcycles within a 12 hour period in Saskatoon.
It’s been an ongoing issue across the province for years and traffic authorities are fully aware of the issue.
“It’s summer, people are out there. They don’t have to worry about slippery streets. So they’ll increase their speed and then of course if they’re frustrated because of the level of traffic and the construction and things like that, they want to get where they’re going fast there is a disregard for the safety of others at times,” said Alyson Edwards from Saskatoon Police Service.
It’s a short season but according to Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) there are about 530 motorcycle collisions each year. Already in 2013, there has been a rash of collisions.
A high number of motorcycle claims over the years is one of the reasons SGI formed a review committee to look at issues impacting rates.
“They’re looking at ways that they can bring those numbers down. The goal is to try to prevent injuries and fatalities,” said Kelley Brinkworth, SGI media relations manager.
“We see about a 50/50 split as far as who’s responsible. Is it the person driving the car or the truck or is it the person driving the motorcycle,” said Edwards.
SGI and other organizations are developing ways to reduce the number of motorcycle collisions including safety programming.
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