SGI urges drivers to stay safe on long weekend road trips

Provincial data shows the risk of a crash doubles over long weekends with heavier traffic on roadways.

It has SGI’s Tyler McMurchy reminding drivers to make good choices behind the wheel.

“Whether you’re heading to the lake, going to the community a little while over or just going for a cruise–we want people to keep in mind they’re going to be sharing the road,” he said.

McMurchy highlighted the importance of driving the speed limit and watching for changes like construction zones.

“Speeding through there (construction zone) at 100 kilometres an hour and the limit is 60, that’s going to cost you more than $1,000 on that ticket,” he explained.

Maintaining the speed limit is also important as farming equipment uses public roads during harvest.

McMurchy suggests slowing down to give farmers moving equipment adequate space.

As always, police will be on the lookout for impaired drivers over the Labour Day long weekend.

“We want people just to keep in mind the importance of never getting behind the wheel when you’re impaired and the importance of making sure other people don’t either,” McMurchy said.

Another major issue on Saskatchewan roads is people not wearing a seatbelt.

“We know it’s (wearing a seatbelt) the easiest, quickest, fastest thing you can do to increase your chance of surviving a collision,” he explained.

More than 600 tickets for not wearing a seatbelt were issued in July alone, according to SGI data.

“It’s been more than four decades since seatbelts became the law in the province and police are still catching that many people not wearing them,” McMurchy said. “It boggles the mind.”

Lastly, he’s urging drivers to keep their full attention on the road.

Distracted driving penalties went up in February and while numbers show Saskatchewan drivers are improving it’s still a concern.

SGI data shows most distracted driving tickets are the result of drivers using phones.