Manitoba Public Insurance releases Top 5 list
The Eastman Region, which includes the communities of Steinbach, Lac du Bonnet, Pine Falls, Birds Hill and St. Malo, holds the dubious distinction of being the province’s No. 1 area for vehicle-deer collisions. There are about 1,800 collisions yearly within this region, based on statistics collected by Manitoba Public Insurance from 2006 to 2009.
Motorists are encouraged to exercise extra care and caution as they head into the worst month of the year for deer/vehicle collisions – November.
Rounding out the province’s Top 5 deer/vehicle collision regions:
2) Brandon/Westman, 1,510 yearly collisions on average
3) Interlake, 977 yearly collisions
4) Pembina Valley, 674 collisions
5) Central Plains, 547 collisions
On average, there are about 6,600 vehicle/deer collisions each year in Manitoba, according to the Manitoba Public Insurance claims data. In efforts to educate Manitoba motorists about the high-risk areas, two maps, showing the highest-risk and high-risk areas showing – rural Manitoba and Winnipeg – have been posted to the Manitoba Public Insurance website: www.mpi.mb.ca.
“The maps captured four years (2006-09) of collected data,” said Ted Hlynsky, Vice-President Claims Control and Safety Operations with Manitoba Public Insurance.
“The captured data is deer-only collisions. The maps are a valuable visual tool for Manitoba motorists to use when travelling throughout the province.”
Last year in Manitoba more than 300 people were injured in wildlife-related collisions, according to Manitoba Public Insurance claims data. Another three people were killed between the years 2005 and ’09.
Recently, Manitoba Public Insurance and Winnipeg Police Service unveiled a pilot project consisting of highly visual wildlife signs and enhanced speed enforcement within specific regions in Winnipeg known to experience high counts of vehicle/deer collisions.
