What's often the deadliest day of the long weekend has passed, but motorists still need to be vigilant. That's the feeling of Manitoba Public Insurance Spokesman Brian Smiley, who says the Friday of a long weekend tends to be the worst day for fatalities on the province's roads. Those who weren't hitting the highways yesterday may be doing so today, and Smiley says you need to keep safety top of mind when travelling.

"I think most drivers need to realize that their driver actions can have consequences on other drivers, potentially killing an innocent family or innocent person. We obviously do not need to see that. We know that in Manitoba about one in four deaths on the roads are from distracted driving."

He notes distracted driving can range from using your cell phone to animated conversations taking place behind the wheel. Smiley says anything that takes your attention of the roads could be putting you at risk.

While distracted driving has been the focus of safe driving campaigns for a number of years, Smiley says an ages old issue continues to be a problem on the province's roadways. He says impaired driving isn't acceptable in today's society, and yet they continue to see those getting behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or texting while driving. Those decisions could have fatal consequences, so Smiley recommends taking multiple steps to protect yourself and others.

"In many situations, you can see that a driver is weaving, or you can see that you're texting, you want to either get passed them or get a safe distance between you and them because you don't know what their behaviour will be. In some situations, we know people have taken down license plate numbers of someone that's weaving, and in Portage you have the report impaired driving program."

Smiley says if you're aware of someone who's drinking and driving, you should call the local police detachment and report their actions.