This is the third Wednesday of November, and it's been set aside as the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims. MPI spokesperson Brian Smiley outlines why this sort of awareness is so vital, especially this year.

"Manitoba has exceeded the number of fatalities this year compared to last year, which is very disturbing. 98 Manitobans have been killed on our roadways to date compared to 78 from last year. So, Manitoba Public Insurance in partnership with the RCMP and other police agencies are trying to raise awareness about the importance of road safety."

Smiley gives the statistics of elements causing these deaths.

"75% of these fatalities are occurring in rural Manitoba. A good portion of the fatalities are related to people 25 years and younger, predominantly males. What we're seeing is a lot of rural fatalities. We're seeing a lot of males' involvement. We're also seeing about 40% of these fatalities are alcohol-related, and 30% are speed-related."

He adds a large number of these people just aren't buckling up, making the general cause of many of these deaths unnecessary high-risk driving habits.