Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and Safety Services Manitoba (SSM) have partnered to identify some typical hazardous conditions and risky driving behaviours on Manitoba roads in the winter and how to safely manage them.

Drivers can struggle with changing their driving habits to suit the change in driving conditions with the onset of winter. Speed, reduced visibility, following too closely, and sudden maneuvers such as accelerating too fast or hard braking are all reasons why Manitobans report more collisions in the winter months. However, the number one contributing factor to collisions remains the same all year round – careless driving.

Of the 43,552 total collisions that took place last winter, 6,304 of those had careless driving as a contributing factor. While a trend MPI sees all year long, careless driving becomes even more dangerous in the winter months, as the ability to make split-second adjustments is vastly reduced. Stopping distance is tripled on packed snow and up to ten times longer on an icy road.

“Ice on roads is just as slippery at -1C as it is at -30C,” said Maria Campos, Vice-President & Chief Customer and Product Officer. “The number one thing you can do to avoid a collision on winter roads is slow down. Give yourself plenty of time to get where you are going so you don’t have to rush and you can drive to the conditions. Winter tires also really help in preventing collisions, and MPI has a Winter Tire Program in place that helps make purchasing winter tires more affordable for Manitobans.”

Other things drivers can do to keep safe on winter roads are:

  • Have an emergency kit in the vehicle in case you get stuck and stranded
  • Brake sooner
  • Leave distance between vehicles
  • Don’t use cruise control
  • Clear snow and ice from your vehicle, including the wheel wells
  • Drive smoothly

“The last thing you want to do is make ice while you are driving,” said Terris Baran, Senior Manager of Road Safety Programming at SSM. “When you accelerate quickly, you can cause the tires to spin, which creates friction and forms ice, making intersections some of the most dangerous places on the road in winter. The number one thing to remember when driving in the winter is to do everything more slowly. Accelerate slowly, brake slowly, and drive slower to accommodate road conditions.”

Now that winter has come to Manitoba, if all drivers take simple precautions and change their driving behaviours to suit the conditions, the risk of collisions goes down for everyone, helping more people get home safely.