As the snow starts to melt you may notice the roads starting to get worse. The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) is trying to help flatten those roads by highlighting some of the worst in Manitoba.
The Worst Roads Campaign concludes tonight at midnight, and Tim Scott, the President and General Manager of CAA Manitoba, says that the feedback has been tremendous so far.
"We're closing in on the 5000 votes, which is awesome to see. It's going to reach what we expected and hopefully more. But, with the people getting back on the road now, spring break being over for most, and with the weather changing, people will be out there. I know that they'll be frustrated with the conditions that they're seeing."
Along with the Worst Roads Campaign, they also had a survey go out that shows Manitoba drivers are assuming that the vehicle ahead of them are swerving for potholes compared to the usual distracted driving habits. Scott says that overall, the survey went really well.
"Over 2300 people were part of the survey. What we are seeing specifically in the median sides of roads or on the passenger side missing potholes and then swerving into other lanes. It's not just cars, it's also bicyclists and people walking because it's not always just roads and potholes. It's also the conditions of the sidewalks and the designs of some of the roads."
The President does admit that sometimes swerving to avoid a pothole may be your initial reaction, but you always must remember a couple simple rules.
"Driving within the conditions, giving yourself an appropriate amount of space to react is always the first and foremost when it comes to driving."
He adds that when that is the case, they ask themselves how do they fix the roads.
"That's the reason for the workloads campaigns. The idea for us is to provide information to the government, both municipal and provincial. This will allow them to prepare and see where the traffic is creating the issues," Scott continues. "If it's by design or is it the amount of traffic. We provide all this information, we publish the worst 10 (roads) throughout the province, but we also provide them with all the details of all the roads so that they can prepare within their department, both in their infrastructure budget and planning in design."
In closing he encourages Manitobans to vote on the Worst Roads Campaign which you can do by clicking here. Scott says that this information is important as it shows the concern and importance of our infrastructure and the roadways within the Province of Manitoba.