A large number of seat belt offences in February had SGI concerned as they released results of their Traffic Safety Spotlight for the month.
Police across Saskatchewan reported 400 offences related to seatbelts or car seats in February, according to the SGI news release. That includes not buckling up, wearing a seatbelt improperly, passengers without seatbelts, children riding unsafely or improper car seats.
SGI pointed out that in 2016, 25 per cent of vehicle occupants killed in collisions in Saskatchewan were either not buckled up or improperly restrained.
In their news release, SGI is urging drivers to make sure they are buckled properly: to ensure the lap belt is pulled tight over your hips, not your abdomen, and for the shoulder belt to fit snugly over the middle of your shoulder and across the chest, not tucked behind.
They noted drivers are legally responsible for making sure passengers under the age of 16 are wearing their seatbelts or in the appropriate car seat or booster seat; fines run at $175 and it would cost drivers three points on the Safe Driver Recognition scale.
SGI also reported the following from February:
312 impaired driving offences including 266 Criminal Code charges;
407 distracted driving offences, with 324 for cellphone use;
3,660 speeding/aggressive driving offences.
SGI is noting that police will continue to look for distracted drivers in March.
