May traffic spotlight leads to record number of tickets

Saskatchewan drivers and police officers in the province had a record-setting month in May.

According to numbers released Tuesday by SGI, police officers handed out record numbers of tickets for speeding and aggressive driving, distracted driving and seatbelt offences.

The May Traffic Safety Spotlight was on impaired driving, but officers issued more than 10,000 tickets for other offences. That set Traffic Safety Spotlight records.

SGI said police handed out 8,884 tickets for speeding and aggressive driving, 1,025 tickets for distracted driving (including 957 for using a cellphone while driving) and 697 tickets for offences related to seatbelts and car seats. There also were 325 impaired driving offences, including 273 Criminal Code charges.

All of those numbers were up from the April Traffic Safety Spotlight.

SGI said the difference may be a result of an increased number of officers on the province’s roads and highways. The Crown corporation pointed out police forces have added 120 new traffic officers since 2014.

“High numbers of traffic offences don’t necessarily mean more people are speeding, driving distracted or not buckling up,” SGI said in a media release. “It means police are catching more of the people who are still doing it.”

SGI noted that, during May, the RCMP focused on “additional enforcement” during Canada Road Safety Week.

June’s spotlight has been focusing on distracted driving.