Manitoba Public Insurance won't talk about hair salon fatality
Spokesperson for MPI says talking about specific cases is a breach of confidentiality and privacy
Manitoba Public Insurance refuses to comment to CBC about the specifics of a Manitoba driver, Adebola Shoyoye who pled guilty to charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death on Monday.
Shoyoye's charges are in connection with a 2012 crash on Portage Ave. that resulted in the death of 27-year-old, Kendall Wiebe.
Brian Smiley, the spokesperson for MPI, spoke with CBC host Ismaila Alfa Tuesday on Up to Speed but said he could not comment on the particulars of any individual's file citing privacy and confidentiality concerns.
Smiley did say that there is an automatic suspension of 5 years for someone who is convicted of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.
In broader terms, Smiley agreed to discuss how MPI processes high-risk drivers.
4,000 drivers suspended in 2014
Smiley says MPI has the Driver Improvement and Control Unit designated to specifically deal with "high-risk driving behaviour."
He said that in 2014, 4,000 drivers were suspended for a variety of infractions from at-fault collisions to traffic convictions.
"There are some offences that result in an automatic suspension," Smiley said, "some offences require frequency."
Smiley said 50 kilometres over the speed limit is the threshold for an activity such as speeding. For this offence, he explains there is a clean-cut line about when an automatic suspension is handed out. However, he says it becomes more complicated to determine when a suspension will be given due to frequency of indiscretions. He offers that it is a combination of factors including frequency and severity.
The cost of high-risk driving
The reprimand system for repeatedly high-risk drivers is progressive according to Smiley.
It begins with an advisory letter, then a warning letter, after which a driving course is required – whether it be a defensive driving course or a responsible driver workshop – if there is another offence, the driver is required to attend a show cause hearing, at which point Smiley said the licence would likely be suspended.
"So again it depends on how many times they do things, in what period of time they do things."
Smiley also points to the Driver Safety Rating as another mechanism that minimizes high-risk behaviour.
"Most long-time-safe drivers have 15 merits and a discount of 33 per cent off their basic autopac and a drivers licence premium. The high-risk drivers, the very very bad ones, are at the bottom of the scale, minus 20. They are paying $2500 maximum for their drivers licence," Smiley said.
Men account for 68 per cent of suspended drivers
Manitoba Public Insurance posts statistics on their website, the most recent being from 2013.
In 2013 there were 41,819 traffic collisions reported in Traffic Accident Reports.
Of those collisions, 69 involved a fatality with 8,729 involving injuries.
4 per cent of Manitoba drivers are suspended. Men account for 68 per cent of all suspended drivers in Manitoba.
Men aged 45 to 54 make up the largest number of licensed drivers in the province but men aged 25 to 34 account for the largest proportion of suspended male drivers.