In light of some high-profile traffic fatalities in recent months, Manitoba RCMP are urging local drivers to use caution on the roads this summer.
Sgt. Paul Manaigre told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg that police tend to see more examples of impaired driving in the summer months.
“We’re definitely seeing factors of people driving impaired … or that we suspect alcohol is involved in a lot of these collisions,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve lost several lives on the roadways.”
After almost three decades of policing, Manaigre said he’s not sure why people continue to put their lives — and the lives of others — at risk, especially when there’s so much information available about the dangers of driving while under the influence.
“I’ve been doing this for 29 years now and we keep preaching the same message: don’t drink and drive.
“Generations have heard this message. It’s astonishing, with social media, with Google … the information is out there, you can find it. People don’t need to be doing this.”
Although the summer tends to see a higher volume of traffic, especially on weekends like the upcoming August long weekend, Manaigre said the overall number of collisions is about even with the winter months.
The main difference, he said, is that while winter crashes are typically caused by difficult road conditions, summer crashes are more likely to involve factors impacting the driver’s own ability behind the wheel.
Overall, he said, everyone using the roads just needs to give themselves the time and space to be safe.
“The volume of traffic is up there so people need to take their time, watch their speeds,” he said.
“You’re looking at some of these highways, they get congested and they can turn tragic pretty quick if you don’t have time to react to what’s in front of you.”