Thousands Of Speeding Tickets Issued In April Crackdown

The need to speed proved to costly for thousands of drivers in Saskatchewan in April.

SGI’s April Traffic Spotlight was on speeding and police throughout the province issued 7,165 speeding tickets during the month which resulted in everything from simple voluntary fines to vehicle seizures for speeds far in excess of posted limits.

There are 43,200 minutes in April, so that works out to an average of one speeding ticket written every six minutes.

No numbers were given as to how many speeding tickets were issued in Moose Jaw under the program but the Moose Jaw Police Service did post on their Facebook page a couple of the infractions close to the city resulting in fines in the hundreds of dollars.

The speeding fine in this incident just outside of Moose Jaw in April was $854 - photo credit Facebook

It also should be noted that the photo speed enforcement tickets - which issues the large majority of the speeding tickets in Moose Jaw - is not included in the totals.

In April the 7,165 speeding tickets issued under the Traffic Safety Act included:  

·         - 250 tickets for exceeding the limit by more than 35 km/h; 

·         - 65 tickets for exceeding the limit by more than 50 km/h; 

·         - 330 tickets for exceeding the limit in a school zone; 

·         - 38 tickets for exceeding 60 km/h while passing highway workers; and  

·         - 528 tickets for exceeding 60 km/h when passing an emergency vehicle or tow truck at roadside with lights flashing.  

Tickets for the above offences are more expensive than regular speeding tickets, and carry additional demerit points.  

 In addition to speeding tickets issued in April there were other offences which often lead to accidents. The list included:

·         - 456 impaired driving-related violations, including 337 Criminal Code offences; 

·         - 747 distracted driving violations, including 641 cell phone tickets; and 

·         - 473 seatbelt/child restraint violations. 

In May the Traffic Safety Spotlight focuses upon impaired driving with already the Moose Jaw Police catching one individual in a Spot Check allegedly for driving while impaired.