Collision data is shedding light on some of Manitoba's most dangerous highway intersections.
Numbers from Manitoba Public Insurance show between 2013 and 2017 there was an annual average of 44,240 vehicle collisions on Manitoba roads — most happen in urban areas, but the most serious collisions often occur on the highway.
CTV News asked for collision data from Manitoba Infrastructure for some the most dangerous intersections in the province – the locations with the highest number of collisions outside the city of Winnipeg are all located along the Perimeter Highway.
Over the past five years there's been a total of 58 collisions at the intersection of Highway 15 and the Perimeter, 62 at Highway 1 and the Perimeter Highway west of Winnipeg and 62 collisions on the south Perimeter and Highway 3 near Oak Bluff.
There’s been 79 crashes, including one fatal collision, at St. Anne's Road and the south Perimeter.
The highest number of collisions have happened at St. Mary's Road and the south Perimeter with a total of 113 crashes.
Source: Manitoba Infrastructure
The numbers are no surprise to R.M. of Macdonald Reeve Brad Erb, whose municipality is located along the south Perimeter.
"It's a very dangerous area, for sure,” said Erb. "It's a combination of access points and level of traffic and traffic volumes, in particular, and the mix of vehicles on the road create very dangerous situations."
The most deadly intersection outside the city of Winnipeg is the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 16 west of Portage la Prairie, Man.
The RCMP said five people have died in two fatal collisions over the past five years.
Experts say collision data can be used to help make roads safer.
“Collisions at intersections are caused by many factors: road design and traffic conditions at intersections are some of those factors -- they’re not the only factors and being one of the worst intersections in any municipality doesn’t mean that those are the only ones that need to be addressed,” said University of Manitoba civil engineering professor Ahmed Shalaby.
“We need to address safety concerns at all intersections.
“There’s certainly a human element — whether it’s impaired driving or distracted driving or just poor training — there’s always a human element involved and we need to take that into consideration as well.”
