Highway safety and discouraging drinking and driving will be the focus of a new public awareness campaign launched by the Department of Public Safety. "Be…safe and sound", a province-wide highway safety awareness campaign, will feature a series of television and radio ads and other initiatives.
Quick Statistics
Polls indicate that public concern over road safety (and particularly drinking and driving) ranks as high as healthcare and pollution.
Throughout Canada, 2,696 people were killed and 317,892 were injured in 2008 as a result of road crashes. Alcohol was a factor in 39 per cent of these deaths and almost 20 per cent of these injuries.
In New Brunswick, 37 people died in alcohol-related crashes in 2008. About 85 per cent of those who died were male. Another 317 New Brunswick drivers were involved in serious injury crashes in 2008, 25 per cent of which were alcohol-related.
Every year, more than 1,000 New Brunswickers are convicted of impaired driving.
