Regina, SK (June 17, 2020) \u2013 A significant drop in the number of impaired driving fatalities last year suggests most people in Saskatchewan have decided it is simply not okay to drive impaired.<\/p>\n
Preliminary numbers indicate 21[1<\/a>]<\/sup> people lost their lives last year as a result of impaired driving collisions, compared to an annual average of 54 between 2009-2018. Injuries resulting from impaired driving continued to trend downward, with 332 reported in 2019, compared to the annual average of 595 over the previous decade. The 2019 impaired driving fatality and the injury numbers are the lowest SGI has on record.[2<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n \u201cOur government has worked with victims\u2019 families, law enforcement, advocacy groups and other stakeholders on a number of fronts to improve safety on our roads and fight Saskatchewan\u2019s impaired driving problem,\u201d Minister Responsible for SGI Joe Hargrave said. \u201cThe 2019 numbers are further evidence that Saskatchewan is making major progress on the province\u2019s historically high impaired driving rates. The result is more lives saved and fewer families having to experience the unspeakable tragedy of seeing someone they love killed or severely injured due to impaired driving.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister Hargrave credited the downward trend in impaired driving casualties to several factors, giving particular credit to families of impaired driving victims who share their stories and their heartbreak in the hopes of convincing others to make better choices.<\/p>\n \u201cI truly believe the work those families do \u2013 whether it\u2019s in an SGI campaign, working as MADD ambassadors or simply by sharing their experience in conversations \u2013 has saved lives,\u201d Hargrave said. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to hear their stories and not be touched by what they\u2019ve gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo one should ever have to experience the pain of losing a loved one to something as senseless and unnecessary as impaired driving,\u201d said Linda Van de Vorst, whose son, daughter-in-law and two young grandchildren were killed by an impaired driver in 2016 (read the story about Jordan, Chanda, Kamryn and Miguire Van de Vorst here). \u201cIt\u2019s encouraging to see progress on Saskatchewan\u2019s impaired driving rates. We have the power \u2013 and the responsibility \u2013 to keep impaired driving from destroying anyone else\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThrough strong laws and sanctions, consistent enforcement and hard-hitting awareness initiatives, Saskatchewan is making great strides in the fight to stop impaired driving, to save lives and to prevent injuries,\u201d said MADD Canada Chief Executive Officer Andrew Murie. \u201cThe progress being made is truly inspirational, and we thank Minister Hargrave, the Government of Saskatchewan and law enforcement for their leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister Hargrave highlighted a number of efforts and initiatives that have helped change impaired driving attitudes and behaviours in Saskatchewan:<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank everyone who has made the decision to never drive impaired, and everyone who has stopped someone they cared about from getting behind the wheel in no condition to drive,\u201d Hargrave said. \u201cWe need to not just sustain these numbers; we need to improve upon them. We will continue to work hard to change the culture around impaired driving in Saskatchewan.\u201d<\/p>\n 1. Impaired driving fatality data is considered preliminary, based on information available from police forces in Saskatchewan, and may be adjusted based on additional information from the Coroner\u2019s office or other sources<\/p>\n 2. SGI has what it considers to be reliable data on impaired driving deaths dating back to 1988. The previous lowest number of impaired driving fatalities in a single year was 39 in 2017. The previous lowest number of impaired driving injuries was 360 in 2018.<\/p>\n SGI offers its competitive property and casualty insurance products through SGI CANADA in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario, and Coachman Insurance Company in Ontario. It sells its products exclusively through independent insurance brokers in all jurisdictions. For more information, visit www.sgicanada.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source: SGI CANADA<\/i><\/p>\n Tags: driving habits<\/a>, driving safety<\/a>, impaired driving<\/a>, SGI<\/a> Awareness, enforcement, legislation pushing drivers to make better choices Regina, SK (June 17, 2020) \u2013 A significant drop in the number of impaired driving fatalities last year suggests most people in Saskatchewan have decided...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/578"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Notes<\/h4>\n
About SGI CANADA<\/b><\/h4>\n
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