Rural Manitobans more likely to drive without a seatbelt but more Winnipeggers caught using phones: MPI study

Many Manitobans are still engaging in risky driving behaviour like not wearing their seatbelts or driving while distracted, according to a recent study by Manitoba Public Insurance.

It found that while the problem of driving without a seatbelt is a bigger issue in rural Manitoba, Winnipeggers were more likely to get caught using an electronic device while driving.

It only takes a moment to buckle a seatbelt, MPI spokesperson Brian Smiley said in a Tuesday interview with CBC's Radio Noon.

"Not sure why people aren't doing it, but that's the reason we're having this conversation ... to encourage use, to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on our roadways," he said.

The Crown insurance company conducted its road safety study in September, and observed nearly 29,000 vehicles in 46 different cities and towns across Manitoba.

It found that 10 per cent of drivers in rural Manitoba were observed not using a seatbelt, compared to three per cent in the Winnipeg region, a Tuesday news release from MPI said.

However, those numbers were reversed when it came to the use of an electronic communication device. Three per cent of rural Manitobans were observed doing that, compared to 10 per cent of drivers in Winnipeg.

The two worst regions in Manitoba for drivers not using seatbelts were the Interlake and Parkland regions, at 16 and 14 per cent respectively, according to MPI's study.

"That's certainly very high, although probably not surprising considering there's some areas in there with a lot of rural areas," Smiley said.

Some rural drivers "likely don't think they need to wear a seatbelt — they're travelling a short distance. Those are some of the explanations we've heard over the years."

Both failure to wear a seatbelt and distracted driving can be dangerous or even deadly, MPI says.

Distracted driving was linked to nearly 50 per cent of all fatalities and 37 per cent of all serious injuries in 2020, according to MPI data.

The insurer also says a person is over 50 times more likely to be killed and almost four times more likely to be seriously injured in a collision when not wearing a seatbelt.

Both of those behaviours can also come with hefty financial penalties, MPI notes.

For using a hand-held electronic device while driving, a first-time offender can be given a $672 fine and a three-day driving suspension, along with penalties on MPI's driver safety rating scale. 

Drivers also lose points on that scale for failure to wear a seatbelt, and can be fined $200 for that.

Smiley says MPI conducted the study to help various police agencies customize road enforcement programs to target "troublesome areas" — but the hope is also to change driver behaviour.

"It takes one second to do up a seatbelt," he said. "I don't know why anyone would want to take that risk."