Driving while distracted is the focus of SGI’s Traffic Safety Spotlight in October with police paying extra attention on those using their cellphones while behind the wheel or getting distracted in other ways.

Offenders face a $580 ticket and four demerits for either:

• driving without due care and attention, and
• holding, using, manipulating or viewing a handheld cellphone.

Repeat offences within one year result in significantly higher ticket costs ($1,400 for a second ticket; $2,100 for a third), and seven-day vehicle impoundments.

SGI says over the past five years, an average of 877 people have been injured in collisions caused by driver distraction and inattention on Saskatchewan roads, which represents one out of every five auto vehicle injuries. Distracted driving also results in an average of 26 fatalities per year.