SGI, Saskatoon police urge everyone to get home safely

SASKATOON Injuries and deaths caused by impaired drivers appear to be declining, but the provincial auto insurer acknowledges more can be done to keep drunk and high people from getting behind the wheel.

“That’s encouraging. It’s always great to see fewer people hurt and killed. Of course, we want to have zero fatalities on our roads, and we’re not there yet,” Saskatchewan Government Insurance spokesman Tyler Mcmurchy said.

“We do have some work to do yet when it comes to impaired driving, there’s no question. Police will routinely issue between 200 and 400 impaired driving offences (per month) in Saskatchewan. And those are the people who get caught.”

According to SGI’S statistics, 43 people were killed and 355 injured in collisions involving impaired drivers last year — which is below the 10-year average of 57 fatalities and 658 injuries. Numbers for 2019 are not yet available.

Mcmurchy and Saskatoon police Staff Sgt. Patrick Barbar spoke to reporters in a cell at the police station, part of a public awareness campaign. The cell was decorated for the occasion, filled with snacks and non-alcoholic sparking wine. Mcmurchy took pains to point out that most guests don’t get the same kind of treatment.

Mcmurchy and Barbar acknowledged Dec. 31 does not typically result in a higher-than-normal number of arrests for impaired driving, likely because people know police will be out and take more care to plan a safe way home.

In 2015, Saskatchewan police reported 575 incidents of impaired driving per 100,000 people. That was the highest rate in Canada by quite a bit; Alberta was second with 314 incidents per 100,000 people.