New Report Shows More Than A 25% Increase In Vehicle Fatalities
According to the RCMP, 2016 was not a good year when it came to motor vehicle crash fatalities. There is a great need for the public to take road safety seriously.
In 2016, 64 people were killed on roads policed by the RCMP. It's the highest number of fatalities since 2010 when 80 were killed.
The RCMP's 2016 annual report called "Working Together for a Safer New Brunswick was recently released to the public.
The 2016 report highlighted initiatives to prevent and solve property crime and emphasized connecting with communities as well as the work the RCMP executes in order to make the roads in New Brunswick a safer place to drive.
According to the report, which reflected accidents in 2016, the RCMP in New Brunswick responded to 58 fatal collisions, which resulted in the loss of 64 lives. In 2015, the report states that the RCMP responded to 50 fatal collisions, with 51 fatalities. In 2014, the RCMP responded to 41 collisions, with 51 fatalities.
Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh, the Media Relations Officer for the RCMP in New Brunswick, every death on their roads is a tragedy. She added that the RCMP is committed to reducing the number of fatal and serious collisions on New Brunswick's highways.
She went on to add that the RCMP does conduct regular highway patrol and enforcement campaigns, but noted that they can't be everywhere all the time.
At this time, they are asking the public to do what they can to reduce the risk of fatal and serious collisions by slowing down, always wear your seatbelt, and avoid distracted driving like texting and talking on your phone.