MPI seeks public comment on discussion paper outlining road safety options

Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is seeking public comment on options for promoting road safety.
MPI notes 100,000 drivers in Manitoba are involved in collisions each year. The direct cost of claims is in excess of $650 million annually, with injuries accounting for about $145 million. About 25,000 vehicles per year are “written off.”
MPI’s discussion paper outlines existing road safety programs, and examines areas in which it can broaden its existing road safety mandate. Some topics for discussion include:
•lengthening the province’s High School Driver Education program to ensure enrolled students address identified driving weaknesses (“Drivers under 25 continue to be over-represented in crashes,” MPI notes, further observing that only 14.1% of licensed drivers were under 25, and yet they accounted for 23% of all of the province’s crashes);
•giving doctors a clearer understanding of when drivers are not medically fit to drive (by providing reliable in-office assessment tools, for example);
•promoting the use of technologies that might lead to fewer collisions, including speed limiters, on-board recorders, in-vehicle video monitoring and GPS;
•providing funding for road improvements, which the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) does in B.C. (MPI does not currently fund road infrastructure); and
•funding check stop enforcement year round to help discourage drinking and driving, which causes 33 fatalities per year in Manitoba and 307 injuries. Also, funding might be considered for use by rural enforcement agencies such as the RCMP to do more to enforce seat belt use.
MPI is looking for public input on these and other topic areas. The deadline for the public to respond is June 30, 2011.
More information on how to respond, as well as a link to the full discussion paper, can be found at:
http://www.mpi.mb.ca/english/newsroom/articles/2011/May12.html