By paNOW Staff

Sask. police report shows record number of distracted drivers in November

Dec 20, 2017 | 1:00 PM

It is a record not worth phoning home about, according to SGI, whose November report yielded the highest number of distracted driving tickets handed out in the province since they began tracking over three years ago. 

Across the province, police found 636 distracted driving offences, 554 of which related to cell phone use. Eleven distracted drivers were fined in Prince Albert, eight of which related to cellphones.

Distracted driving causes more collisions and more injuries than impaired driving on Saskatchewan highways, according to spokesperson Tyler McMurchy, and the number of offenders continues to rise.

“While [impaired driving] may cause more fatalities, distracted driving” is next in line and the numbers are “going in the wrong direction,” McMurchy said. “It is something people really need to understand is a significant traffic safety concerns.”

Distracted driving is the diversion of attention from driving as a result of the driver focusing on a non-driving object. This could be anything from using a GPS, reading, personal grooming, pets and eating. Anyone caught violating the cellphone law faces a $280 fine and four demerit points. A driver caught violating this law twice in one year is at risk of having their vehicle use ceased for a week.

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“Distracted driving is dangerous and costly and illegal,” McMurchy said.

In November, hundreds of others were caught driving with suspended licences or operating vehicles without valid insurance. Police reported 302 offences for driving while suspended or disqualified, 519 tickets for operating a motor vehicle or trailer without a valid registration and 345 tickets for driving without a valid licence or failing to abide by licence restrictions.

As well, 209 impaired-driver were charged, alongside 3,741 speeding tickets were issued. Locally, PAPS caught 15 impaired drivers in November and handed out 71 fines for aggressive driving or speeding, according to SGI.

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