The temperatures have started to dip and the snow will be falling within weeks. With these winter conditions brings an increased risk on the roads.
According to the Government of Alberta traffic collision statistics for 2010, October is the most dangerous month on the roads in the province. There were 12,858 collisions reported for the month of October, of which 30 caused death and 1,321 resulted in injuries.
It is a great time of year when the leaves are changing hue, the ground is blanketed in powder and animals go into hibernation. It is a great time of year that shouldn’t be ruined by a preventable death or injury on our roads.
Last year saw 344 fatalities and 18,253 injuries as a result of vehicle collisions. When thinking about this, it is almost one person per day lost to a seemingly preventable cause and roughly 50 people injured on a daily basis.
Living in the Westlock area, you are at an even higher risk of being involved in a fatality collision, with 72.3 per cent of those fatal collisions occurring in rural areas. With all these statistics staring one in the face, it is time to evaluate driving habits.
With the recent talk of distracted driving legislation, potential speed-limit increases and the rash of recent accidents occurring on area highways, people should realize how truly close to home this problem can be.
No one is exempt from collisions and no one is exempt from the responsibilities one assumes when they take their place behind the wheel.
Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Bryan Clayton said that the majority of collisions are preventable. This means that the majority of those 344 people who died in 2010 as a result of vehicle collisions could have been saved.
All it takes to prevent this needless death is education, responsibility and common sense. This means putting down your cell phone, taking your foot off the gas pedal and before attempting to pass on the highway, thinking about the risk you are taking.
When taking this risk, not only are you responsible for the lives of yourself and your passengers, you are responsible and accountable to the lives of everyone else on the road.
Keeping this in mind, perhaps this October doesn’t have to be so dangerous.
