Traffic Safety Spotlight Nabs Hundreds
Buckling up helps increase your odds of surviving a trafic accident and for hundereds more it could have saved them some cold hard cash in the latest SGI traffic spotlight.
In the February Traffic Safety Spotlight 409 tickets in total were issued for not wearing seatbelts or using child seats during Februrary.
Called #MakeItClick the enforcement project funded by SGI found the major offenders were drivers of the vehicle.
Law enforcement from across Saskatchewan reported 409 offences related to seatbelts or car seats as part of the February Traffic Safety Spotlight.
Of those 409 offences:
344 tickets for a driver failing to properly wear a seatbelt
37 tickets to a passenger (age 16 or older) failing to properly wear a seatbelt
13 tickets for driving with a passenger under 16 not wearing a seatbelt
15 tickets for driving with a child not in the appropriate child restraint.
Drivers are responsible for making sure passengers under the age of 16 are wearing their seatbelts or are in the appropriate car seat or booster seat. For each passenger under 16 who isn’t, it will cost the driver an additional $175 and three demerits.
The vast majority of people in Saskatchewan do buckle up. February’s results – and the hundreds of seatbelt tickets issued every other month -- are a good reminder that police continue to watch out for the small percentage who don’t.
A $175 ticket and three demerits under SGI’s Safe Driver Recognition Program are costly reminders, but not nearly as costly as the potential consequences of failing to fasten your seatbelt, the rellease stated.
You are much more likely to be seriously hurt or killed in a collision if you’re not wearing a seatbelt. In 2017, 16 people were killed and 148 people were injured in vehicle collisions in Saskatchewan due to being improperly restrained or not buckled up at all.
Ensuring everyone in the car is properly buckled up is quickest and easiest thing you can do to protect yourself while behind the wheel.
Not sure which seat is the best fit for your child? You can attend a free car seat clinic or book an appointment with a car seat technician to learn how to properly install your seat.
Other results from the February spotlight included:
224 impaired driving offences (including 192 Criminal Code charges)
563 distracted driving offences (512 of those for cellphone use)
4,028 speeding/aggressive driving offences
#HeadsUpPhonesDown – Law enforcement continue to look for distracted drivers throughout March. Follow SGI onFacebook,TwitterandInstagramto learn more. See a friend driving distracted? #CallThemOut. A second cellphone offence in a year means the vehicle you’re driving will be impounded for seven days, and that’s not fun. Check out the three “Confessions of a Reformed Distracted Driver” videos onSGI’s YouTube channelfor a first-hand account.