The Eastman area of the province is still Manitoba’s leader when it comes to vehicle-deer accidents, according to new numbers from Manitoba Public Insurance.
“At this time of year in particular, there’s an increased likelihood of encountering these animals when travelling through these zones,” said MPI’s Satvir Jatana.
The region includes communities such as Steinbach, Falcon Lake, Birds Hill Park, Anola, and Lac du Bonnet, and experienced an average of 1,700 annual collisions between 2013 and 2017.
“There are nearly 7,000 vehicle/deer collisions yearly in Manitoba,” said Jatana. “Our goal is to see that reduced through education, awareness, emerging driver-assist technologies, and drivers taking preventative steps.”
Some of those preventative steps include raising awareness of collision hot spots. MPI is working in partnership with the City of Winnipeg to place signs at 14 strategic locations.
Winnipeg dropped one spot to number six on the annual collision list.
Signs will also be placed in Riding Mountain National Park.
MPI says seven Manitobans have been killed in crashes with an animal over the past 10 years, with about 400 people reporting injuries from collisions per year.
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