Police and SGI drive home New Year’s Eve message
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 urging people to avoid what SGI calls the worst place to party on New Year’s Eve.
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.
At the same time, they said the beginning of a new year is an opportunity to remind everyone that there is no reason to get behind the wheel drunk or stoned at any time, whether it’s New Year’s Eve or a random Tuesday in September.
“I think when people feel there’s a chance they can get away with something, they’ll do it,” Barbar said when asked why, in spite of tightened legislation and increased public awareness, impaired driving continues to be a problem.
“We see the same phenomenon with distracted driving. People are aware of the consequences, they’re aware of the dangers of distracted driving, they continue to do it,” he said, adding that enforcement is critical.
“There are aspects of it that are maybe ingrained in the culture here in the province, and elsewhere,” Mcmurchy added, noting that impaired driving is a problem across the country.
In 2015, Saskatchewan police reported 575 incidents of impaired driving per 100,000 people. That was the highest rate in Canada by a significant margin; Alberta was second with 314 incidents per 100,000 people.
Since marijuana was legalized in October 2018, there has been a slight uptick in arrests for impaired driving but nothing close to the “doomsday” predictions made ahead of legalization, Barbar said.
Mcmurchy said SGI wants to stamp out the perception that driving high is somehow less dangerous than driving drunk, and encourage everyone to plan a safe way to get home every time they go out.
Those options include taxis, ride-sharing services, SGI’S holiday get-home-safe program Operation Red Nose, designated drivers, public transit (which is free in Saskatoon tonight) or, as Mcmurchy said, simply staying the night.