2017 traffic deaths fall to level last seen in 1954
Visually representing the loss of life is a grim business.
But in a Delta Hotel ballroom Thursday, such an endeavour included a glimmer of hope.
Row after row of chairs sat empty, representing 102 lives lost in Saskatchewan traffic fatalities last year. At the front of the room, however, 23 chairs were filled with people, marking the number by which traffic deaths were down over 2016.
SGI says 2017 saw the fewest traffic deaths since 1954.
“In 1954, there were less than one-third the number of vehicles in Saskatchewan as there are nowadays,” said Joe Hargrave, to illustrate magnitude of the drop.
However, the minister responsible for SGI said that by looking at the empty chairs in the room it’s clear that the issue of traffic fatalities is “something we have to fix.”
“Awareness campaigns will continue to come,” he said, noting that a campaign pertaining to marijuana use is in the works.
On that front, he also pointed to SGI’s support for the training of more drug recognition experts, whose skills to detect impairment he described as “very good.”
Courts will recognize their assessments, he said.
Fatality statistics usually come as part of a complete statistics package, typically released later in the year. In fact, the statistic Hargrave listed is subject to change as the last information comes in from coroners.
But if the figure does change, it won’t be by much, according to Kwei Quaye, SGI’s vice president of traffic safety services.
“I would say, probably on the outside, plus or minus two, based on experience from previous years,” he added.
When asked how there could be a decrease in recorded deaths, Quaye responded: “The coroner might decide that somebody’s death that was ruled a traffic fatality could’ve actually been a suicide.”
“We don’t count deliberate events like that in our numbers,” he said.
While the Crown has not yet confirmed specifics, such as figures on contributing factors in traffic deaths, Quaye gave a bit of a preview.
“Last year we had 57 fatalities as a result of impaired driving. Right now, based on the numbers we have, we are sitting around 26,” he said.
“Even if there is bump of 10, which is unlikely, it’s a marked reduction.”
Indeed, a marked reduction and a historic low when looking at data over the last 30 years. Of any single year in that time frame, the fewest traffic deaths involving alcohol was 42, in 2013. In 1987, alcohol was a factor in the death of 123 people — only two less than the total traffic deaths recorded in 2016.
Distracted driving is also a killer. It was a contributing factor to 42 deaths in 2016.
“We’re sitting around 22 now,” Quaye said.
However, SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy pointed out that often multiple factors contribute to traffic fatalities, and that distracted driving may actually have been a factor in more deaths than has been recorded.
“If it’s a single vehicle rollover, it would be hard to tell if somebody ’s distracted,” he said.
“If the phone was on the seat beside them, maybe they were looking at it.”