Despite their lack of pavement, grid roads are still legal roads that are subject to driving laws. RCMP Superintendent Grant St. Germaine is the officer in charge of F Division Traffic Services and the Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan. He says they often see disregard for seatbelt laws.
“Now I couldn't answer the question or give you an actual reason as to why that is, but I know a couple of years ago we had a fair number of fatal crashes that took place on grid roads, none of which the drivers were wearing seat belts. In a lot of instances, the driver was ejected, or a passenger was ejected from the vehicle not wearing a seat belt and those deaths are pretty much a hundred percent preventable.”
He explains the chances of surviving a vehicle accident on a grid road is typically higher, because drivers should be travelling at a slower speed, and fields and ditches present fewer obstacles and a lesser incline if a vehicle goes off the road. It’s factors like not wearing a seatbelt, intoxication, or speeding that increases the likelihood of fatalities.
St. Germaine says while familiarity and the lack of traffic can make it easy to travel at high speeds, the terrain on grid roads can be inconsistent, prompting the 80 kilomtre per hour limit.
“The gravel gets beat off it so it almost ends up like a pavement surface and if it's dry it's a pretty good road to drive on. But a little bit of rain can turn it to be very slick and if the if the R.M. happened to plow it last night and you didn't know about it and you now hit a stretch of road that you know for the last month has been basically free of gravel and it's now loose gravel, your ability to be able to control the vehicle on that road surface is significantly reduced.”
The gravel also delays braking and accelerating, this time can be crucial when encountering wildlife.
St. Germaine emphasizes the driver's role in keeping roads safe, which includes following laws put in place for driving safety.
“It's the public's responsibility and they can make themselves safe and other folks safe by abiding by those laws. We just hope that we're able to get that education and the message out to people that you need to drive the speed limit, don't drink and drive, and with regard to seat belts and texting or using a cell phone, pay attention to what you're doing, That makes the road safer for everybody, both you as the driver and the other person that's coming towards you.”