We get it. The past few months have been… eventful. We’ve all had a lot on our minds. Still, that’s no excuse to drive distracted (or drive impaired, or not wear a seatbelt, or break speed limits).
Distracted driving was the focus of the June Traffic Safety Spotlight, and police across Saskatchewan issued tickets to 700 distracted drivers. That includes 605 drivers cited for using a cellphone while driving, and another 95 issued tickets for driving without due care and attention.
Distracted driving is a leading contributor to collisions and people getting hurt and killed on Saskatchewan roads. There are many potential distractions for drivers (e.g. this, this, this and this) but since most distracted driving tickets result from cellphone use, leaving your phone alone greatly increases your chances of not getting a ticket and will make you a much safer driver. Here’s a video that shows five things you can do with your phone before driving that will help you avoid one of those very stiff distracted driving tickets.
Tickets for distracted driving are no joke. They start at $580 for a first offence and increase to $1,400 and $2,100 for each subsequent ticket within a year. Every ticket will earn the driver four demerit points and repeat offences also result in the driver’s vehicle being impounded for seven days. (Registered owners pay for towing and impound costs.)
Big numbers for the rest of the “Big Four”
Other unsafe driving practices also kept police busy last month, but should also serve as a reminder that traffic safety enforcement is as strong as it has ever been in Saskatchewan.
For the month of June, police reported these big numbers for the rest of the “Big Four”:
- 395 impaired driving offenses, including 339 Criminal Code violations,
- 7,803 tickets for aggressive driving and speeding and,
- 533 tickets for seatbelts and child restraint being used incorrectly or not at all. (We’re not going to lie; it’s hard to believe police caught this many people in one month in the year 2020 who didn’t bother to buckle up.
The July Traffic Safety Spotlight is on construction zones. SGI joins law enforcement in reminding drivers to #SlowDown and keep workers safe this construction season. Avoid distractions and be mindful of workers while you’re driving through construction zones this summer. Obey all signs and directions from any flag person you see. And when two lanes become one in a construction zone, #EmbraceTheZipperMerge.
