After 13 deaths in July, RCMP warn drivers to be careful over long weekend

Clear skies and high temperatures make for nice vacation weather, but RCMP are warning drivers to proceed with caution.

Thirteen people died in eight collisions on New Brunswick roads policed by the RCMP in July, compared to no fatalities the month before.

In May there were three deadly collisions resulting in three deaths.

"That seems a little high compared to May," Cpl. Julie Rogers-Marsh, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick RCMP, said of the July numbers.

Three days into the month of August, there have already been two fatal collisions resulting in two deaths.

Rogers-Marsh said RCMP are still investigating many of the July collisions, and it's too soon to say why there were so many deaths.

A particularly deadly stretch of the month began July 17, when a 16-year-old boy was killed in an overnight motorcycle crash in Dieppe.

That same day, two SUVs collided in Shemogue, leaving two men dead at the scene. An 80-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries the next day.

Three days later, a 19-year-old man died as a result of injuries suffered while car-surfing near Tracadie.

On July 21, two men from New Brunswick and a woman from Labrador died after a head-on crash on Route 11 near Belledune, when a pickup truck travelling north crossed the centre line and struck another pickup hauling horses.

A fourth person was taken to hospital with serious injuries but is expected to survive. Two horses were killed.

Heading into the long weekend, Rogers-Marsh said she expects more people to be out on New Brunswick roads.

"Our message is for people to wear their seatbelts, and we want people to drive sober, so not to drink and drive and not to do drugs and drive."