Preliminary reports indicate that Saskatchewan had some of the highest rates of drinking and driving in Canada last year – an issue the province hopes it can address soon.

While the numbers for 2017 are not yet available, an earlier Statistics Canada report showed that Saskatchewan had the highest rates among provinces.

“These numbers are just too high,” Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) vice-president of traffic safety and driver services Kwei Quaye told The Canadian Press. “Impaired driving, in our opinion, is a totally preventable type of behaviour.”

“The consequences of this in terms of impacts on people’s lives and impact on their families is unacceptable,” Quaye added.

Although it is not known exactly why the impaired driving rates are so much higher in Saskatchewan, Quaye suggested that it might be because drivers are either unaware of the consequences or are led to believe that they will not get caught.

In recent years, the province has passed legislation that introduced tougher penalties and vehicle seizures for first-time offenders, in an effort to curb impaired driving.

Quaye also said that SGI will have brought in an additional 200 traffic enforcement officers by the end of 2017, and will continue to launch public awareness campaigns reminding people of the dangers of drinking and driving.

“We continue to look for ways and means to change the picture with respect to impaired driving,” he remarked. “There is a shift happening. We are very hopeful.”

The pending legalization of the recreational drug cannabis also has both officials and citizens concerned that it could exacerbate impaired driving rates in the province.

Last November, SGI announced new legislation to deal with drug-impaired driving. Under the new rules, the province will have zero tolerance for anyone driving with drugs in their system.

Although 2017’s impaired driving statistics have not been finalized, Quaye hopes SGI’s recent efforts help improve that number.

“We are very hopeful that 2017 will be a totally different year than any we’ve seen in Saskatchewan.”


Related stories:
SGI: Hundreds of drivers caught without valid insurance in November
Drunk driving fatalities in Saskatchewan increased in 2016: SGI