Impaired driving was once again the spotlight in May for SGI and law enforcement around the province.

Despite the nearly constant added focus, the number of infractions show impaired driving is still a prevalent issue.

During the month, police reported 324 impaired driving-related offences. Among which include:

  • 280 Criminal Code charges such as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeding .08, impaired driving or refusing a breath test.
  • 44 roadside suspensions (includes new drivers with a BAC ranging from .00 to .08 and experienced drivers with a BAC ranging from .04 to .08).

Impaired driving remains the number one cause of driving fatalities.

Tyler McMurchy, Manager of Media Relations at SGI, explains that it's never a bad time to promote awareness of the issue, as well as the recently-revamped rules and regulations.

"Use a designated driver, call a designated driving service, call a friend or a family member, or just stay the night," he said. "We also want to tell people that if you see a friend who you think is going to drive impaired, be a good friend; good friends don't let friends drive impaired. Stop them from getting from behind the wheel and be a friend for life."

McMurchy also shares that parents can help at home by discussing the dangers of drinking and driving at home with their kids. As well, to remember that whether they're a passenger in a vehicle with an impaired driver, or if they're impaired themselves, it's never okay to put themselves in that situation.

"Speaking as a parent, I know that any parent would much rather get a call from their kid asking for a ride after identifying that they're not okay to drive home, especially when compared to an alternative of getting a knock at their door at 3:00 a.m. and having the police telling them that they'll never see their kid again."

Another development from the traffic spotlight was the highest number of speeding/aggressive driving offences committed on roadways in nearly two years in Saskatchewan. 6,159 offences were committed in May - the highest since October 2015. This figure poses as troubling news for McMurchy and SGI.

"We want to remind people that not only should they drive sober, but they should also slow down. Obviously you'd expect to see a number of speeding tickets in any given month, but when you're seeing 6,159 tickets reported in a single month, it's something that's definitely a concern," said SGI's Manager of Media Relations.

Instances which constitute an aggressive driving citation include:

  • racing,
  • stunting,
  • driving faster than safe for the conditions,
  • following too closely to vehicles, and
  • zig-zagging between lanes

Other results from the May spotlight included 364 distracted driving offences (251 of those for cellphone use) and 469 seatbelt, car seat or booster seat violations.

June's traffic spotlight is currently being conducted on  'New Driver Safety', with results to be posted in the third week of July by SGI.