By Brady Lang

SGI reminds motorists to stay safe on Canada Day

Jun 26, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The Canada Day long weekend is almost here, and SGI is reminding motorists to stay safe on the roads.

There will be a ton of people on the road, with people travelling in all directions across the province. SGI’s Manager of Media Relations, Tyler McMurchy explained some simple things to do to stay safe this weekend.

“When you’re out on the roads on the long weekend, you’re not alone,” McMurchy told battlefordsNOW. “We always remind people that the highways are busier and that increases your chances of being involved in a collision. Always keep in mind not to drive impaired, always pay attention, put down the phone, watch your speed, and your following distance.”

McMurchy said even if you’re not impaired, it’s important to be alert and vigilant whenever you’re behind the wheel.

“If you’re heading out for a long road trip, stay alert,” McMurchy said. “If you’re starting to get drowsy, hand off the driving duties to another licensed driver in the car. It’s the long weekend; you have plenty of time to get there, wherever you’re going. Whoever you’re meeting there, they’d rather you be late than not arrive at all.”

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According to SGI, Saskatchewan police issued 544 tickets for distracted driving offences in May, along with 6,087 tickets for speeding or aggressive driving, and 445 tickets regarding seatbelts or child car seats. McMurchy said its not surprising that the numbers increase as the weather warms up.

“We do see an uptick in many driving offenses in the warmer months, and impaired driving is among that, which is why we focus on it in the month of May and August,” said McMurchy. “We know that impaired driving is the number one cause of fatalities on Saskatchewan roads.”

Last month, police reported 404 impaired driving offences in Saskatchewan, which led to 352 Criminal Code charges. The police remain very focused on catching impaired drives and some people need to do a better job of planning a safe ride home, SGI said, but the numbers are decreasing slightly.

“In May, we announced that the numbers for 2017 [showed] overall deaths and injuries related to impaired driving were the lowest we’ve seen since we started keeping track in 1988,” McMurchy said. “We have to remain vigilant because, as the numbers from May show, people are still making that poor decision to get behind the wheel when they are impaired.”

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB