According to a Collision Reconstructionist with the RCMP, statistics for fatal accidents on NL’s highways are similar with numbers over the past couple of years.
Up until this date in 2022 and 2023, there were 19 fatal incidents. So far this year there have been 20 fatal incidents but slightly more deaths reported at 24 compared to 20 and 21 deaths in the last two years.
Cpl. Dave Bourden says members deal with what they call the “six ds of driving patterns” – distracted, drowsy, detached or not wearing a seatbelt, dangerous, drunk, and drugs.
Bourden says so far this year, 27 per cent of fatal motor vehicle accidents were speed related, 22 per cent are related to distracted driving, and 13 per cent are related to impaired driving. He says two thirds, or 65 per cent of fatal collisions this year, involved people not wearing their seatbelts.
Other stories in this CKVB Newscast: two west coast drivers nabbed for excessive speeds, an abandoned and burned out vehicle at Johns Beach, and tips for avoiding a bear encounter.
– With files from Dean Clarke
