Article content May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness month and fatal motorcycle crashes are on the rise on Manitoba’s rural public roadways. Last year, 71 per cent of all fatal motorcycle collisions took place on rural public roadways, compared to 29 per cent on urban public roadways. This is a 13 per cent increase from the 5-year average of 58 per cent. Over the last two years, 15 motorcyclists have been killed on public roadways and nearly 300 injured. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser. MPI: Majority of motorcycle fatalities taking place on rural roadways Back to video “Speed is a contributing factor in the severity of the crash,” Satvir Jatana, vice-president, Employee and Community Engagement, Manitoba Public Insurance. “While 40 per cent of these fatal crashes were single-vehicle, another 60 per cent involved a second vehicle. “Mutual respect on our roadways is paramount if we’re going to see a reduction in these motorcycle fatality numbers. Many of these deaths could have been prevented and many were directly attributed to high-risk driving behaviour.”