Premier Scott Moe wouldn’t discuss specifics of what planned tougher penalties for distracted driving in Saskatchewan will look like, but said they could be similar to impaired driving penalties.
Distracted driving is the number one cause of motor vehicles accidents causing injury on Saskatchewan roads, according to SGI. Distracted driving is also the second leading cause of death on provincial roadways.
Sandra LaRose thinks it will take a long time to break drivers of the habit of using phones behind the wheel. She knows the consequences of this all too well. La Rose’s 17-year-old daughter, Kailynn Bursic-Panchuk, died after being hit by a train east of Weyburn in August 2018.
According to the police report, the train crew said she was looking down at the time of the collision, likely at her cellphone.
“I know if she could go back, she would. She was a smart girl. She knew, she never let me answer my phone when I was driving, so she knew right from wrong,” LaRose said.
“But now it’s a matter of breaking a habit that’s been formed. It’ll take time and perseverance. I’ll keep talking as long as people will listen. I’ll keep showing Kailynn’s face and sharing her story and making people realize the final implications of distracted driving.”
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Kailynn’s story is now part of an SGI ad campaign. LaRose thinks penalties may deter some, but stories like this are the best way to discourage drivers from looking at their phones behind the wheel.
While patrolling Regina, Const. Mike “Hawkeye” Seel with the local police recently issued his 1,000th distracted driving ticket of the year.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s necessary. I don’t like the amount of cellphones that I see every day that I have to write up, but I’m seeing it everywhere I go; driving up and down the city. It’s everywhere,” Seel said when asked about increased penalties.
On his shifts, Seel said he frequently catches repeat offenders. On top of the base penalty, a $280 fine and four demerit points on your licence, people caught distracted driving a second time within a year of a previous fine face a one-week vehicle seizure.
Impaired driving in Saskatchewan comes with an immediate three-day licence suspension for experienced drivers on a first offence. Penalties escalate from there.
Seel sees the upcoming harsher penalties as a necessity since people aren’t getting the message through public education campaigns.
“Honestly, I can’t say why it is. I think we live in a society now that expects an immediate response. If someone calls you and you don’t answer, people keep calling you until you pick up. It’s unfortunate,” Seel said.
No specific date has been announced for when more details will be released on the proposed tougher penalties. The minister responsible for SGI previously said they will come during the fall sitting of the legislative assembly.
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