SGI and police partnered to target the month of April’s Traffic Safety Spotlight toward the importance of drivers having a valid licence and an insured vehicle.
Law enforcement in the province reported that 623 people were caught driving while suspended and 695 were caught driving unregistered vehicles in April.
“Police are very good at catching this type of offence, and particularly with the assistance of automated licence plate readers, which are in more police and law enforcement vehicles throughout the province than has ever been the case,” said Tyler Mc McMurchy, SGI’s spokesperson.
“Those automated licence plate readers can scan one licence plate per second and alert the officer if the vehicle is unregistered or the driver is suspended. So that’s one of the ways that police are able to catch it.”
SGI said driving while suspended or with an unregistered vehicle can lead to serious consequences, such as costly fines, vehicle impoundments and a lack of insurance coverage.
“You’ve been told that you’re not allowed to drive, so you should take that seriously.… We just advise people do not risk it because the consequences are quite significant,” said McMurchy.
“You will have to go back to court if you are caught driving suspended. If you are responsible for a collision while you’re driving suspended, it means that you don’t have insurance coverage. And so you could be potentially on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in damages to your vehicle to and to the other driver’s vehicle as well, or somebody else’s property.”
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SGI also stated that law enforcement reported 337 impaired drivers; 5,750 drivers who were speeding or driving aggressively; 259 tickets for not wearing a seatbelt, wearing it incorrectly or having children improperly restrained; and 535 distracted drivers.
With the May long weekend ahead, people may have plans for a little getaway, so SGI and police are warning drivers that highways may be extra busy with road trip traffic.
“We always advise people that the risk of a crash on long weekends increases significantly because the traffic is much heavier on long weekends,” said McMurchy. “So that’s something that we want everybody to be aware of.”
SGI and law enforcement said to keep yourself and others safe, follow basic safe driving tips, which start with the big four: impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding and seatbelts.
Follow SGI on Facebook and Instagram to join the conversation or follow Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan to see how police are doing this work on Saskatchewan roads.
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