Drivers stay safe this Labour Day weekend

Let’s face it — 2020 has been pretty darned hard. It’s only natural to try to squeeze the last bit of fun out of summer this Labour Day long weekend.

Regardless of whether your long weekend plans take you to the lake or a friend’s backyard, SGI wants to make sure everyone gets there and back without any problems.

With heavier traffic, the risk of a crash doubles over long weekends, but there are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself and other road users safe:

•  #SlowDown – driving faster than the speed limit or than road conditions allow can affect your control and the time you have to make decisions. Obey posted speed limits. Construction season isn’t over, so keep an especially close eye out for workers in the #OrangeZone.  The road is their office.  And, with harvest underway, be aware that you might encounter farmers moving their equipment between fields, so be sure to slow down and give them space until they are off the roads.

• #DriveSober – Never drive impaired and #BeAGoodWingman by preventing others from driving impaired as well. While we have made strong progress in reducing impaired driving in Saskatchewan, the fight isn’t over.  We want people to always make a plan for a safe ride home, and do it before they crack that beer (or inhale that brownie).

• #BuckleUp – using a seatbelt is a simple behaviour that can save you from serious injury or death in a collision. Need a visual? This video shows what happens to unrestrained occupants in a roll-over (only dummies were severely harmed in the making of that video).  It’s hard to believe in the year 2020, police still catch several hundred drivers every month not wearing their seatbelt.

• #JustDrive – Distracted driving penalties went up in February, but there’s a human cost to driver distraction and inattention, as the leading cause of injury.  Most distracted driving tickets result from phone use.  We have some good tips on what to do with your phone before you drive here.

From everyone at SGI, have a fantastic long weekend!