Over 400 impaired driving charges in Saskatchewan during May

SGI said some people need to do a better job of finding a safe ride home after releasing the results of its May traffic safety spotlight.

Police reported 404 impaired driving offences during the month, including 352 Criminal Code charges.

Penalties for being over .08 or refusing to take a breathalyzer test include an immediate roadside suspension and a mandatory vehicle impoundment of 30 days.

The estimated minimum total cost for an impaired driving conviction is $3,185, on top of any criminal charges.

Officials said despite the results, they remain optimistic the impaired driving problem in Saskatchewan is getting better.

SGI said 2017 had the lowest number of deaths and injuries from collisions involving alcohol or drugs since they started keeping records in 1988, but is still the leading cause of fatalities on Saskatchewan roads.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“People are realizing it’s just not worth it with the strong administrative penalties, license suspensions, vehicle seizures, ignition interlock, to go along with the criminal code consequences,” SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy said.

Regina addictions counselor Rand Teed says it’s important to keep the foot on the gas when it comes to education and enforcement surrounding impaired driving.

“When there’s a series of accidents, people tend to pay more attention to it,” Teed said. “Once the trauma of those incidents wears off, people become more relaxed and start getting back into thinking that they’re okay and it’s not that bad.”

Teed wants to see more done to educate people about how much is too much when it comes to alcohol consumption. He hopes to break down the stereotypical image of a stumbling drunk behind the wheel and target those who are slightly exceeding the legal limit on a consistent basis.

“People get away with it. They don’t get caught and they don’t smash up anything, so their thinking around it starts to change,” Teed explained. “They’ll start to think ‘Well, I’m not as bad as those people, I’m okay’. Then they get into the habit of having two, three, four, five drinks and driving.”

“You get picked up for impaired driving, maybe nothing bad happened, but then your whole family is affected. Other people have to drive you around for a year, you have to go to court, it affects your finances. If something does happen, it destroys lives.”

Also during May, police issued 544 distracted driving tickets, including 447 for cellphone use, and 6,087 tickets for speeding or aggressive driving.

There were also 445 seatbelt or child car seat offences during the month.

Police are focusing on new drivers for the June traffic safety spotlight.