safety facts

Speeding and Traffic Accidents

Unintentional injuries resulting from road traffic accidents are the number one cause of death in the 1 to 34 age group. Such accidents occur each day with as many as 140,000 people injured on the world’s roads, more than 3,000 deaths, and over 15,000 people disabled for life (WHO-2001).

The top five reasons for speeding, cited by Manitoba’s Public Insurance and Driver Licensing Corporation, include:

1. Driver error
   • Delayed reactions due to inattention, distraction and speed
   • Impairment by alcohol, drugs or fatigue
2. Distractions from:
   • Use of devices such as cell phones: You are four times more likely to crash when you combine cell phones with driving
   • Outside the vehicle distractions: Outside distractions account for almost 30% of all "at fault" fatal collisions
   • Conversations- other people in vehicle
   • Eating/Smoking/Changing a CD-tape or fiddling with the radio: You are six times more likely to crash than you are when just glancing down at your speedometer
3. Habitual Speeders
   • Fearless Youth
   • Sports Car owners (larger engines- faster cars)
   • Type “A” aggressive driver personalities
4. Time Management
   • Always late- always rushing
   • Work related meetings and delays
   • Many Family activities (more than 1 child per family)
5. Thrill Seeking
   • Mostly young (Ages 18+)
   • First time vehicle registration
   • Stolen Vehicles (Ages 12+)

The repercussions from speeding and collisions include fines, increased insurance premiums, and demerit points that result in increased driver-licensing fees. Governments know that money is a key motivator to reduce speeding and avoid collisions and around the world the cost of being caught speeding or having an accident continue to rise. Some statistics on the costs involved are noted below.

In Manitoba Canada, basic speeding fines are:

0-14 km/hr over speed limit	$105.00 Canadian
15-19 km/hr over speed limit	$130.00 Canadian
20-34 km/hr over speed limit	$230.00 Canadian
35-49 km/hr over speed limit	$380.00 Canadian
50-70 km/hr over speed limit	$530.00 Canadian

Pedestrian Corridors and Child Deaths

Pedestrian injuries are the number one cause of serious injury and death to Canadian children ages five to nine. Every week in Canada, on average, 80 child pedestrians are involved in a collision with a motor vehicle. Each year more than 4,000 children are hit by motor vehicles while playing outdoors or walking to school, to a friend's house, to sports activities, or to a neighbourhood shop. (www.safekidscanada.ca)

"Worldwide, 520,000 people were murdered in 2003 and 310,000 died by armed conflict," says Holtzheuser. "That’s a total of 830,000 deaths." And yet that combined figure, he points out, doesn’t come close to the 1.26 million deaths caused by road collisions in the same year. Why so much loss? Putting it simply, one might say the problem is too many vehicles going too fast. The other big problem is that North Americans don’t like to think of driving as the biggest threat to their safety. www.industrialsourcebook.com & www.carsp.ca

Canada Road Safety Report

Over the 10-year period, 1992-2001:

• Pedestrian fatalities averaged 416 per year and decreased 24.1 percent over the 10 year period.
• Pedestrian injuries averaged 14,252 per year and decreased 10.2 percent from 1992 to 2001.
• Overall males represented 61 percent of pedestrian fatalities while females accounted for 39 percent of fatalities.
• The 65+ age group accounted for 27 percent and 39 percent of male and female pedestrian fatalities, respectively. Over the period, male fatalities over 64 years old decreased 12.7 percent and over 64 year old female fatalities decreased 30.4 percent.
• Pedestrian fatalities decreased 24.1 percent compared to a decrease of 20.7 percent for all road users including pedestrians. Pedestrian fatalities were down 20 percent among males and down 30 percent among females.
• Pedestrian fatalities in urban areas represented 69.5 percent of all pedestrian fatalities over the 10 years.
• For pedestrians over 64 years of age, 85 percent of the fatalities occurred in an urban area.
• Pedestrian injuries dropped 10 percent – decreases of 13 percent in male injuries and 7 percent in female injuries, while all road user injuries decreased 11.5 percent.
• An average of 95 percent of pedestrian injuries occurred in urban areas.

Speed Zones in Winnipeg

The following information can be referenced at: http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/Transportation/speed_limits.asp

The speed limit on Winnipeg streets is 50 km/h unless otherwise stated by a traffic control device.

Some streets in Winnipeg have a speed limit higher than 50 km/h.

The Highway Traffic Act states that " No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway [street] at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent or in a manner that is not reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing[...]"

Speed limits are intended to facilitate the orderly flow of vehicular traffic. Having an appropriate speed limit accomplishes the following:

• Satisfy law requirements;
• Encourages compliance from motorists;
• Effectively separates occasional violators from the complying majority;
• Provide a realistic feedback to motorists.

Pedestrian Corridors in Winnipeg

What's a pedestrian corridor?

A pedestrian corridor is a specially signed crosswalk equipped with flashing beacons and internally illuminated signs. The flashing beacons are actuated by pushbuttons and advise motorists of the pedestrian's intent to cross the street.

http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/Transportation/pedestrian_corridors.asp

Hazardous Intersections in Winnipeg

Highest Collision locations Statistics (2003)

Top 10 most hazardous intersections in Winnipeg:

Red-light Camera Intersections in Winnipeg

How may RLC intersections are there in Winnipeg today?

There are currently 36 photo-enforced intersections in Winnipeg. In July or August of 2005, another 12 locations will be added, with the ultimate goal of monitoring up to 60 locations by the end of 2006. By registering your Otto after you purchase, you will become eligible to receive updates when these new locations are added.

The Drive to Survive: Reducing road deaths in Canada

With nearly 20 million cars and trucks on our roads, the automobile has long become a fact of life for Canadians. But our reliance on them comes at a cost. Over the past 50 years nearly 200,000 Canadians have died in traffic accidents; more than those killed in both world wars combined. In addition, despite vast safety measures automobile accidents continue to be a major cause of death of younger Canadians.

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-69-1754/life_society/road_safety/