Saskatchewan Government Insurance says there has been a steady increase in fatalities, injuries and collisions related to distracted driving over the last three years.
The insurer has reported that police across Saskatchewan issued 486 tickets in October for distracted driving, including 391 for using a cellphone while behind the wheel.
SGI says distracted driving was a factor in nearly 8,300 collisions contributing to the deaths of 42 people and to more than 1,200 injuries last year.
That’s up from nearly 5,700 distracted driving collisions in 2015 in which 36 people were killed and more than 800 injured.
It’s also higher than in 2014 when 27 people were killed and 700 were hurt in 3,900 distracted driving crashes.
Legislation came into effect at the beginning of this year that prohibits drivers from using, viewing, holding or manipulating mobile devices.
Drivers caught a second time within one year have their vehicles seized for seven days.
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