MPI expands its speed sign program to Selkirk and beyond
Representatives from Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), the province and the City of Selkirk gathered on Main St. in Selkirk last week to announce the expansion of MPI’s Speed Display Sign Loan Program.
The speed display program launched in 2021 with 25 signs which were distributed to 13 municipalities around the province on a five-year loan. After the program was determined to be successful at lowering speeds of vehicles, MPI recently expanded the program to 21 more areas.
Matt Wiebe, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Manitoba and the Minister responsible for MPI explained that speeding is the cause of many collisions in Manitoba and that these signs are tools to make driving safer.
“We know in the City of Selkirk and many communities throughout our province, we’re seeing more and more active transportation, cyclists, pedestrians. This is a busy intersection, and for people coming into the city here, we want to ensure that we’re making things as safe as possible for everyone. And from what we’ve seen, the results have been great. We’ve seen that the pilot program has worked. It’s worked in many communities, and so, because of these encouraging results, we know that it’s time to expand this. So we’re expanding the program up to 21 more areas since 2021 that brought the total number of communities up to 34 and now we’re building on that success. We’re rolling out this program into even more communities. I’m proud to see this program growing,” he said.
Satvir Jatana, MPI’s President and CEO explained that speed is a leading contributing factor to fatal collision in Manitoba and that this program reminds drivers to drive safely.
“Based on our data, we are finding that speeding is connected to over one in five deaths on Manitoba roads. One in five, that’s a significant number, and that number is growing. In 2022, alone in that year, we had 25 people die due to speed. That’s an increase of 47 per cent over the last four years, from 2017 to 2021,” she said.
Record Photos by Katelyn Boulanger
Jatana explained that MPI is commited to preventing these losses by educating drivers and making them aware of the serious consequences of speeding.
“We’re grateful that leaders in many municipalities, towns and cities, like Mayor Johannson, are working with MPI to expand and be part of that movement and cause. Through the display sign loan program, we’re changing driving behaviour and making Manitoba roads safer for everyone. These special boards alert, of course, the speed for the drivers, and provide us with valuable data to continue to develop road safety initiatives that can help save lives. Since this program has been introduced, the display signs have observed over 5.5 million vehicles, and these guys have alerted many drivers they’re speeding, and as a result, 190,000 of them have slowed down. We’re very pleased with the success of this program,” she said.
Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson, explained that he’s personally seen people slow down due to the new speed display sign on Main St. which comes right after the sharp turn coming into the city from the south.
“It goes down to 50(km/h) there and they will pass me as I’m going down to 50. But believe it or not, when they get here, they see that digital sign. You see brake lights, and they slow down. They slow down, and that’s the start of our city, and that means it’s going to be safe as they travel through the city,” said Johannson.
In addition to two speed display signs in Selkirk, in our local area West St. Paul and St. Clements also have speed display signs in their communities thanks to this program.
