Six pedestrians have died on Manitoba roads so far this year, said Manitoba Public Insurance Thursday.
The number is almost half of the total number of road deaths since Jan. 1, which currently sits at 14.
The fatalities include a 31-year-old woman killed in the Polo Park area in January, a four-year-old girl killed after being hit by a vehicle near Dufferin School in March, and a 41-year-old man who died after a crash at Morley Avenue and Osborne Street.
On Thursday MPI said it is highlighting the ‘concerning numbers’ related to pedestrian deaths ahead of Canada Road Safety Week, taking place May 14 to 20.
“Behind these numbers are real lives lost and families left to deal with the senseless and often unnecessary loss of a loved one,” said Satvir Jatana, vice-president, communications at Manitoba Public Insurance, in a news release.
“As a community we need to start thinking differently about road safety. We need to change the conversation and create a culture where even one motor vehicle fatality is considered one too many.”
MPI’s annual awareness campaign for Road Safety Week will target risky driving behaviours like distracted or impaired driving, not using seatbelts, speeding and “incidents involving vulnerable road users.”
“Pedestrians can be particularly vulnerable since they don’t have a ton of steel protecting them like occupants within a vehicle,” said Jatana.
MPI said on average in 12 pedestrians die on Manitoba roads each year and another 130 are hurt.
