The provincial government has announced it is moving ahead with several recommendations from the Special Committee on Traffic Safety report.
In a news release Thursday the provincial government announced it is implementing more than half the recommendations from that committee report, which include tougher measures for drinking and driving, increased communication on distracted driving and its dangers and expanded photo radar.
Among the highlights are implementing zero tolerance for drugs or alcohol for all drivers under 19 and for all drivers in the Graduated Driver's Licensing program; immediate 60-day roadside suspension and three-day vehicle impoundment for any blood alcohol content under .08 for drivers under 19 and all GDL program drivers; immediate licence suspension up to court disposition and a three-day roadside vehicle impoundment for all drivers with a BAC of .08 to .15 or those who refuse a test; mandatory ignition interlock for high BAC offenders; implementing a two-year photo radar pilot project at high risk locations and school zones; increasing financial penalties for drivers caught going over 35 km/h over the speed limit; and making booster seats mandatory for children under age seven and less than 145 cm in height and 36 kg in weight.
Corresponding legislative amendments for these changes will be introduced in the fall session.
The Special Committee on Traffic Safety was a bipartisan committee that included in its ranks Battlefords MLA Herb Cox. The seven-member committee conducted hearings across the province and submitted their report and recommendations Aug. 30.
The committee was charged with addressing the issue of fatalities on Saskatchewan roads. The government noted in its news release that 184 people were killed on the provincial roads and highways last year.
Minister for SGI Donna Harpauer says the traffic safety action plan being introduced "aims to address this issue as well as other traffic safety concerns with the goal of reducing deaths and injuries on Saskatchewan roads. We are hopeful these initiatives will have an immediate impact on driving behavior, so we can all benefit from improved traffic safety in the province."
