Deadly month of traffic fatalities prompts Alberta RCMP warning for holiday weekend
Seventeen people have died in crashes on Alberta roads and highways so far this month
May has been a deadly month on Alberta roads and highways, with 17 traffic fatalities, prompting RCMP to issue an advisory to drive with caution this long weekend.
Seven of those killed were under the age of 20.
"Seventeen murders over a two-week period would cause most Albertans to sit up and ask what's going on," superintendent Ian Lawson of the Alberta RCMP traffic services said in a news release.
"That many deaths should make every driver concerned about safety on the road."
"It's a lifetime of really not forgetting about it," Poitras said. "A lifetime of pain and agony over a few seconds of not paying attention."
RCMP have to contact the families of those killed, and Poitras said that's particularly difficult knowing that most accidents are preventable.
"A small bit of attention, more on the road, could have prevented these accidents," he said. "We hope to relay that message and people listen."
Mounties also urge drivers to keep a careful eye out for cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.
Two motorcyclists, who were driving responsibly, died after they were hit by drivers who didn't see them, police say.
Last year, four people died in collisions on Alberta highways over the Victoria Day long weekend.
There were 11 traffic fatalities during the first two weeks of May last year and seven in the same time period in 2014.