Sask. impaired driving deaths down 32% in 2017: SGI

There were 39 impaired driving-related deaths on Saskatchewan roads in 2017 — a 32 per cent decrease from the previous year, according to preliminary data from Saskatchewan Government Insurance released Thursday.

Thirty-four of those deaths involved alcohol-impaired driving while the rest were attributed to drug-impaired driving, the Crown corporation said.

Earlier this year, SGI said there were a total of 102 deaths on the province's roads in 2017 — the lowest number in more than 60 years, according to the insurer.

"The fact that we're seeing fewer collisions, injuries and fatalities attributed to impaired driving has us cautiously optimistic that attitudes and behaviours are changing in our province," Minister Responsible for SGI Joe Hargrave said in a press release. 

There were 57 impaired driving deaths in 2016, an increase of three from the year before. Injuries, though still high, are also down for the third year in a row.

There were 340 impaired driving-related injuries in 2017 — 320 of which were attributed to alcohol, the remainder attributed to drug-impaired driving. In 2016, there were 464 impaired driving-related injuries and 586 in 2015.

"The latest statistics are evidence of an encouraging trend," Saskatoon Police Service Chief Troy Cooper said in the same release.

Impaired driving has been a scourge in Saskatchewan for years. In 2015, the province had 575 impaired driving incidents per 100,000 people — the highest impaired driving rate among Canadian provinces, according to Statistics Canada.

To combat drunk driving, the province has upped punishments for those who are caught impaired behind the wheel. 

Impaired-driving deaths, injuries since 2012:

• 2012: 72 deaths, 756 injuries.
• 2013: 43 deaths, 613 injuries.
• 2014: 60 deaths, 560 injuries.
• 2015: 54 deaths, 586 injuries.
• 2016: 57 deaths, 464 injuries.
• 2017: 39 deaths, 340 injuries.

Source: Saskatchewan Government Insurance