Over the last five years, 22 motorcyclists have been killed on Manitoba public roadways while another 700 have been injured. With May being National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, Manitoba Public Insurance is renewing its call to ‘Save The 100’ – the average number of people killed yearly on Manitoba public roadways.

In an effort to heighten road safety awareness between drivers of vehicles and motorcyclists, Manitoba’s public auto insurer recently launched a public awareness campaign “Watch For Motorcycles”.

“The focus of road safety remains saving the 100 and making Manitoba roadways safer,” said Satvir Jatana, vice-president responsible for Communications, Manitoba Public Insurance.

“Mutual respect on our roadways is paramount if we’re going to see a reduction in fatality numbers. Many of these deaths could have been prevented and were directly attributed to high-risk driving behaviour by either the motorist or motorcyclist.”

In order to heighten road safety awareness among both groups of vehicles, Manitoba’s auto insurer works closely with the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups.

“It’s important that we change the conversation about traffic safety in our province and create a culture where all road users have mutual respect for each other,” said Jatana. “For drivers this means acknowledging that motorcyclists have every right to use our roads safely, as do cyclists and pedestrians.”

Safety Tips

For Motorcyclists:

  • Wear the right gear, including an approved safety helmet, eye protection, jacket, pants and boots.
  • Try to be highly visible whenever possible by wearing bright or fluorescent colours such as yellow, red or orange to enhance visibility.
  • Ride with your headlight on and in a position on the roadway where you are visible to motorists and out of their blind spots.

For Drivers:

  • Always look twice when changing lanes and at intersections to be sure there isn’t a motorcycle or moped in the blind spot.
  • Watch for signals. It may be hard to see a motorcycle or moped’s turning signal so watch for other signs like shoulder checking which can indicate the rider is planning to change lanes or turn.
  • Keep your distance. Motorcycles and mopeds may stop faster than other vehicles. Maintain a following distance of at least four seconds and increase this distance at night or when it’s raining.