The Saskatchewan RCMP wants to keep people aware of dangers on the road as the summer season is starting up, and Canada Road Safety Week begins.
Recently, the southeast saw a few road incidents, including a pair of fatal crashes, with the RCMP hoping to give tips on how to prevent similar road incidents.
Corporal Andrew Knowles, the Traffic Services Team Leader in Estevan, talks about the purpose of Canada Road Safety Week.
"Police are going to be out on Saskatchewan highways, and we're looking for people basically who are driving while impaired. We're also going to be enforcing Traffic Safety Act laws, looking for seatbelts and looking for speeding and ensuring that the public is able to get to their destination safely."
Knowles gives some of the tips for keeping safe as you're driving on Saskatchewan's highways.
"What we'd like to remind people is not to drive impaired. We'd also like to remind people to keep their phones out of reach, to take breaks when they're tired. Typically, we find a lot of drivers who've driven very, very long distances, and that can affect somebody's ability to drive safely. So we'd like to tell those people, if you're tired, take a break.
"We're also encouraging people to wear their seatbelts. It's a major factor in a lot of our fatal collisions, and we'd like people to remember to wear their belts. Obey the speed limit. That's another major factor in a lot of our collisions and giving yourself lots of time to get to where you need to go because there's going to be an increased volume of traffic along our roadways."
That's especially pronounced during the summer as Knwoles says that people are a lot more likely to visit friends and relatives and go on vacations, increasing commuter traffic.
"With the increase in volume, there's always an increase in potential hazards. So that's where following those rules becomes very important for safety."
Before heading out, Knowles recommends that people keep an eye on the Highway Hotline for the latest traffic safety updates and where any potential road closures may be happening.
"We'd encourage people to use that to check road conditions to make sure that it's safe to drive, and what they can anticipate driving into. So we'd ask people to stay away from 911 because that's an emergency function only. So if you need to look, it's online."
People can also head online to SGI's website to check out highway driving safety tips at any time.