With the September long weekend being the unofficial end to summer, the Alberta RCMP is reminding everyone to be safe.
Mounties have released number indicating how many people have died or were injured on roads, rivers and lakes across Alberta from May to July:
- 11 people have drowned in Alberta lakes or rivers;
- 1,277 people were injured in collisions and 50 died on roads and highways within RCMP jurisdiction;
- 29 cyclists were injured and two died on roads and highways within RCMP jurisdiction;
- 71 people were injured in off-road collisions and four people died;
- 145 motorcyclists were injured and seven died on roads and highways within RCMP jurisdiction.
“Whether it’s a matter of up or down, we would want to have the message to be that any of these numbers are too many,” Cpl. Laurel Scott said on Friday.
“We want people being safe,” she said. “We don’t want people drowning and we don’t want people injured or killed on the highways. So every year, we just want to see these numbers go down, until we get zeros.”
In the month of August, however, Scott said the number of drownings in the province rose from 11 to 17.
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RCMP also expect traffic on highways across the province to increase this long weekend, and want drivers to take their time on the roads.
“Slow down, drive safely, don’t be distracted, don’t look at your cellphone,” Scott said.
“Give yourself time to get to wherever you’re going and be patient, and understand that traffic will be up.”
RCMP said 563 people were injured and three were killed in collisions over the September long weekend in 2016.