3700+ Speeding Tickets Issued During Distracted Driving Spotlight

SGI's traffic safety spotlight for August was on distracted driving, but police also nabbed a large number of leadfoots on the roads.

The Crown Insurer released stats Monday showing that 319 tickets for distracted driving were issued across Saskatchewan in the month, including 228 for using cellphones behind the wheel, but also 3719 speeding tickets.

"It seems like we are sort of on an upward trend," said Kelley Brinkworth, Manager of Media Relations for SGI. "In July, we were actually higher with 4028 speeding tickets. June, just about 1700, May, about 2100, and April, where we focused on speeding, we saw close to 3800... just to see the thousands of speeding tickets every month, that's very disappointing."

Police also issued 206 seatbelt tickets and laid 93 impaired driving charges in August.

SGI is also reminding drivers that with the new traffic safety laws that came into effect in June, immediate roadside vehicle seizures can occur for distracted driving offenses, on the second offence within one year for cellphone use while driving, and the third offence within one year for driving without due care and attention. Drivers can also have their vehicle seized if they are caught speeding by double or more the speed limit, or exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 km/h.