SGI News Release – December 2017
1,166 drivers should not have risked it during November’s Traffic Safety Spotlight – During November’s Traffic Safety Spotlight, hundreds of people were caught driving with suspended licences or operating vehicles without valid insurance. Police reported the following results:
• 302 offences for driving while suspended or disqualified
• 519 tickets for operating a motor vehicle or trailer without a valid registration
• 345 tickets for driving without a valid licence or failing to abide by licence restrictions
In order to legally drive a motor vehicle on public roads in Saskatchewan, you need a valid (not suspended or expired) driver’s licence and your vehicle must have valid insurance (not suspended or expired). Think you can get away with it? #DoNotRiskIt. Police cars throughout Saskatchewan are equipped with automatic licence plate readers (ALPRs), which make it easier to quickly and efficiently identify unauthorized drivers/vehicles.
Driving while suspended also carries potential Criminal Code charges, fines, jail time and a minimum 30-day vehicle seizure.
Claiming that you were “on your way to SGI” with an unregistered vehicle is not a good excuse, either, especially when it is so easy to pay for your plates online through your MySGI account. There is a $580 fine for driving an unregistered vehicle. For second and subsequent offences within 12 months, the vehicle is seized for seven days. (Pro tip: put a reminder in your phone for when your plates are going to expire.)
Driving an unregistered vehicle or without a valid licence means that if you cause a collision, you won’t have insurance coverage and you could be personally on the hook for thousands of dollars in damages.
Distracted driving offences: A record that’s nothing to phone home about
Police reported a whopping 636 distracted driving offences during the November, 554 of which were related to cellphone use. Yikes! We’ve seen an increase in distracted driving tickets since the cellphone law was strengthened at the start of 2017, but these are – by far – the highest numbers reported in a single month in the history of Traffic Safety Spotlights. Distracted driving is the number one cause of collisions and injuries on Saskatchewan roads, and carries a $280 fine. #PhonesDown #HeadsUp
Other results from November’s Traffic Safety Spotlight:
• 209 impaired-driving related offences (including 202 Criminal Code charges)
• 334 tickets for inappropriate or no seatbelt/child safety seat
• 3,741 speeding tickets
#PlanASafeRide – Santa isn’t the only one watching to see who’s been bad or good. Police continue to focus on impaired driving throughout December, and throughout the entire year.
Visit SGI’s website at www.sgi.sk.ca for more information about distracted driving. Follow SGI on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for safety tips to #TakeCareOutThere.
