The numbers are in for SGI’s traffic enforcement spotlight for March, which was on impaired driving. In all, 454 drivers were nabbed for an impaired driving offence. This included 312 administrative suspensions and 142 Criminal Code charges.
“We’ve seen the number of offences sort of coming up, and that’s being driven by the increases in administrative suspensions,” SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy said of the recent trends in the numbers. “We’ve actually seen the number of Criminal Code charges coming down.”
Part of the increase in administrative suspensions for impaired driving is cited as being due to the rules concerning driving while impaired by cannabis. Saskatchewan has a zero tolerance for driving with cannabis in the system, and newer tests make it easier for police to find drivers who are impaired by drugs.
“We don’t think that the number of impaired drivers overall on our roads has actually increased to the same degree,” McMurchy explained. “It’s just more likely that more of them are getting caught due to those more effective enforcement efforts by police.”
Other traffic tickets that were handed out in March throughout the province included 548 tickets for distracted driving – 446 of those for cell phone use, 375 tickets for seat belt and car seat offences, and 4,473 tickets for speeding or aggressive driving offences.
In Weyburn, the Weyburn Police Service reported five charges for impaired driving during the month of March.