Friday is the deadliest day of a long weekend, according to Manitoba Public Insurance.

Spokesperson Brian Smiley says, on average, two people are killed and more than 100 others are injured on Manitoba roadways each holiday long weekend. He adds, of those killed or injured, 37% occur on Friday.

"A number of theories on that," notes Smiley. "People are wanting to get out to the cottage so they'll be leaving Friday after work or Friday afternoon, so, higher traffic volumes. We also know that people are in a hurry to begin their long weekend so, unfortunately, they exceed the speed limits. So, when you combine heavier traffic volumes with speeding, it can be a fatal combination."

Smiley says these statistics tend to apply more to the summer months than the winter months.

"Whereas in the winter, typically there isn't as much traffic on the [long] weekends. People wind down the cottages sometime in October. So, again, in the summertime people enjoy the warm weather, the beaches, the campgrounds, and there are higher traffic volumes, unfortunately, people will speed and, again, that's not a very good combination."

He notes high-risk driving behaviours are illegal and can lead to tragic outcomes. Smiley says motorists should take their time arriving at their long weekend destination, don't drive distracted, don't drive impaired, wear a seatbelt, and stay safe.