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Masset-Tlell highway as deadly as any in north

By Heather Ramsay-Northern roads are deadly, according to a new report by the Northern Health Authority.
In fact, the death rate for road accidents in northern BC is more than double the provincial average, says medical health officer Dr. David Bowering.
Speed and alcohol play a role in crashes throughout the province, but drivers in the north must also deal with extreme weather.
The highway between Masset and Tlell is one of the top crash locations in the north according in the report.
The report also shows there are twice as many crashes per 1,000 people in the Masset area as there are in the Queen Charlotte region.
In Queen Charlotte, the number-one crash and injury site is in the 200 block of Third Avenue, by the ball field. A close second is the 800 block of Highway 16, which is the corner near the high school.
In Masset, the number one crash and injury site is the intersection of Collison Avenue and Main Street. A close second is the 300 block of Eagle Avenue in Old Massett near the community hall.
January has the highest motor vehicle crash incidents across the Northwest, then December and then November.
In 1995, over 2-million preventable injuries accounted for $4.2-billion in direct health care costs nation wide.
Motor vehicles accounted for 9-percent of this or $375-million.
The report says proper seatbelt use could reduce this figure by 61-percent and mortality could be reduced by 20-percent with reductions in drinking and driving.
Reducing speed limits by 10 km/hour could also lead to 15-percent decrease in mortality.
In 2004 there were 75 fatal crashes in British Columbia and 49 were recorded to the end of September of this year.