That's the message that the RCMP is relaying during Canada Road Safety Week, an eight-day campaign where officers conduct extra check-stops and traffic operations to raise awareness about what leads to death on the road.
Last year in this province, 60 people died in vehicle crashes and 33% of those crashes involved a driver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. And where a seatbelt was available, 40% of people killed weren't wearing one at the time of the collisions.
But Corporal Chantal Farrah wants you to look beyond the numbers: We have to remember these aren't just statistics, she says, these are people who have died in crashes, that in most cases were completely avoidable. Road Safety Week wraps up tomorrow.