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Frustration mounts as distracted driving numbers increase

Apr 27, 2017 | 6:00 AM

Drivers in Saskatchewan are still not getting the message that using cellphones while driving is not only illegal but also deadly.

Since SGI began monthly traffic safety spotlights in 2014, March saw the most traffic violations yet for distracted driving with 523 tickets were issued in the province and 441 of those were for being distracted by a cellphone.

To make matters worse, police were also watching for drivers speeding, impaired driving and seatbelt violations and those numbers were just as staggering. For the third straight month in 2017 these violation increased with 4,532 speeding or aggressive driving violations, 318 impaired driving infractions and 453 seatbelt violations in Saskatchewan in March.

In 2015, the Battlefords area had 125 distracted driving collisions resulting in 17 injuries while in Meadow Lake there were 35 distracted collisions resulting in 14 injuries and one death.

The numbers for the first three months of 2017 in the Battlefords are not available.

 “It’s extremely frustrating,” Tyler McMurchy of SGI said. “To see so many people still choosing to use their cellphones when they are behind the wheel is mind-boggling.”

Based on data from 2015, distracted driving was the leading factor in motor vehicle collisions in Saskatchewan and second in fatal collisions behind impaired driving.

“I realize that the numbers may be elevated a bit because law enforcement has been increasingly focused on distracted driving since the new laws were brought in back in January,” McMurchy said. “However these numbers are unacceptable.”

Distracted driving laws were strengthened in January, from “using” a hand-held cellphone to “using, viewing, holding or manipulating” one. The fines for distracted driving have increased as well.

McMurchy added law enforcement will continue to be vigilant in keeping distracted drivers accountable in the area.

 

roger.white@jpbg.ca

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