Saskatchewan police issue nearly 2,200 tickets in April: SGI

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), the province’s self-sustaining auto insurance fund, said on Wednesday that law enforcement officers issued a total of 2,195 tickets during the month of April, including 1,720 for speeding/aggressive driving and 12 tickets related to vulnerable road users.

April’s traffic safety focus was vulnerable road users – the actions of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists, and the actions of others that put them in danger – but it was speeding violations that garnered the majority of tickets for motorists, SGI noted in a statement. Included in the 2,195 tickets were the following:

• 41 charges related to impaired driving;

• 66 tickets for cellphone use;

• 173 tickets for no/improper seatbelt/child seat; and

• 183 tickets for failing to stop for red light/stop sign.

On April 15 and 16, police officers from across Saskatchewan assembled in Prince Albert for a two-day Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) event. Police enforced all traffic safety violations, with a particular focus on seatbelts/child seats, cellphones, speeding/aggressive driving and impaired driving, the statement said. In total, enforcement issued 408 tickets during the two-day blitz, including:

• 176 tickets for speeding/aggressive driving;

• 73 tickets for non-seatbelt use;

• 11 tickets for cellphone use while driving;

• 1 impaired driving charge; and

• 134 tickets related to commercial vehicles.

Throughout the month of May, Saskatchewan police are focusing on impaired driving.