CHRISTMAS CHEER FUND
Annual campaign will help those most in need
With the holiday season underway, SGI is sending out a reminder to “Deck the halls … with sober driving.”
“The holiday season — when ugly Christmas sweaters are brought out, semi-awkward office parties happen, and SGI and law enforcement team up to focus on impaired driving as part of the December Traffic Safety Spotlight,” SGI said Friday in a news release.
With its own elves decked out in ugly Christmas sweaters and belting out their own twist on some carols — including ’Tis The Season To Drive Sober, Christie Was Impaired and Call a Friend, Hail a Cab, Stay the Night — SGI kicked off its anti-impaired-driving campaign.
According to SGI, last holiday season (from Dec. 1, 2017 to Jan. 3, 2018), three people were killed and 18 injured as a result of impaired-driving-related collisions in Saskatchewan. Overall, alcohol was a factor in 39 deaths (39 per cent of all traffic fatalities) in Saskatchewan in 2017. And there were 770 collisions involving alcohol or drugs, killing 39 people and injuring 368 others.
SGI reminds motorists of the consequences for impaired driving:
There is zero tolerance for drugimpaired driving, and penalties for alcohol-impaired driving start at .04 for experienced drivers. (Zero tolerance for drivers in the Graduated Drivers Licensing program and those 21 and under.) An experienced driver caught with a blood-alcohol level between .04 to .08 on a first offence faces a three-day licence suspension, a three-day vehicle seizure and has to complete a Driving Without Impairment (DWI) course. Drugimpaired drivers who fail a standardized field sobriety test face the same consequences. A new driver caught driving with any amount of alcohol or impairing drugs in their system on a first offence has their licence suspended for 60 days and their vehicle seized for three days. They also have to complete a DWI course. Drivers with .08 level or who fail a drug recognition evaluation face Criminal Code charges, regardless if they are a new or experienced driver. Consequences for first-time high offenders include indefinite roadside suspensions, a minimum 30-day vehicle seizure, and mandatory ignition interlock for a minimum of one year if convicted.