Drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in the deaths of one-third of people killed in B.C. over the last decade, according to a new report form the BC Coroners Service.
Nearly the same number, 29 per cent, died in crashes where failure to wear a seat belt or use a car seat were contributing factors, the report said.
Men were were more than 20 per cent more likely to die in a crash while not wearing a seat belt, the report also found.
A second report also found another startling trend: a steep hike in the number of people killed while riding motorcycles.
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The coroners service says 51 of the 314 fatalities on the roads last year (16 per cent) involved motorcycles or mopeds, five per cent higher than the average over the last decade.
That’s the highest number in the last 10 years, and 50 per cent higher than 2017, the report found.
More than a third of the deaths over the last decade occurred in the Interior Health Region.
The Fraser Health Region had the second highest number of fatalities at 26 per cent, while the Vancouver Coastal Health region had the fewest, just 10 per cent.
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