Yorkton RCMP members were focused last Wednesday and Thursday on intersection safety. The blitz was part of a province-wide SGI-sponsored initiative named Operation Crossroads intended to raise awareness of intersection-related hazards.
"Nearly half of all collisions occur at intersections," said Andrew Cartmell, president and CEO of SGI. "In 2011, the number of collisions at intersections increased over the year before, so we want to once again remind both motorists and pedestrians alike the importance of knowing and following the rules of the road, especially at intersections."
In 2011, there were more than 13,000 collisions at intersections across the province, resulting in nearly 3,800 injuries and 39 fatalities.
Rebecca Rogoschewsky, SGI manager, media relations said police gave out a total of 516 tickets during the two-day operation. Lack of or improper use of seatbelts topped the list with 216 offences. Operating a hand-held phone and failing to stop at a red light or stop sign were two of the other main offences at 51 and 38 tickets respectively.
The local effort was consistent with these provincial results.
"I think we wrote about 40 tickets," said Sgt. Pete Garvey of Yorkton RCMP Traffic Services. He said motorists were pretty good about stopping at intersections, but officers are still seeing a lot of people not wearing seatbelts. And, he added, cell phone use is still one of their greatest concerns.
"It's constant," Garvey said.
Even following legislation banning hand-held cell phone use in 2009, it remains a Saskatchewan-wide problem.
"Unfortunately, we still see texting and cell phone use behind the wheel," said Chief Troy Hagen, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police. "We hope that by continuing to focus on the dangers of distracted driving and proper use of seatbelts we can reduce the number of fatalities we see on Saskatchewan roads."
The effort is not going well this year. Sgt. Paul Dawson, an "F" Division media relations officer told Yorkton This Week that fatalities for 2012 had already reached 118 as of Monday, August 27, almost as many as the annual total for each of the preceding four years. There were 128 deaths in 2011, 143 in 2010, 134 in 2009 and 140 in 2008.
