Sask. police reported 414 impaired driving offences in December: SGI

Police throughout Saskatchewan reported more than 400 impaired driving offences during December 2022, new data shows.

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) released impaired driving statistics Wednesday, showing how many people police found driving under the influence during the holidays.

Police reported 414 impaired driving offences — 240 Criminal Code of Canada charges and 174 sanctions such as license suspensions — in December, the most since at least 2019, data shows.

"We still have substantial work to do," SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy told CBC News.

"That's more than we want to see because there is no number of acceptable impaired driving offences as far as we're concerned."

Motorists are charged or issued sanctions if they exceed provincial blood-alcohol limits — 0.04 per cent for experienced drivers and zero per cent for new drivers — or are under the influence of drugs at all.

The 240 criminal charges laid last month were the fewest in the month of December since at least 2019, data shows.

But the number of sanctions issued doubled from December 2021, and was by far the highest in at least four years.

The increase in sanctions reflects that police have better tools and training to determine which drivers used drugs before getting behind the wheel, McMurchy said.

"Nobody is under any false illusions that drivers were not driving under the influence of cannabis and other drugs prior to legalization," he said.

"But when legalization came in, there were also additional laws that came into effect, and police were also given more ability to test drivers.… So police in Saskatchewan are using it."

SGI cannot speculate as to the impact public health restrictions, or the lack thereof, had on the increase in offences, McMurchy said.

He referred to SGI data showing that police reported more impaired driving offences in December 2020 and December 2021 than in December 2019 — before the COVID-19 global pandemic was declared.

Police put an emphasis on impaired driving during December, because people may be celebrating or partying more often, McMurchy said.

He noted thousands of people in Saskatchewan opted not to drive while impaired last month, and encouraged residents to drink responsibly and plan a safe ride home the whole year through.

In addition to impaired driving offences, SGI said police issued:

• 254 tickets for seatbelt and occupant restraint offences.
• 2,931 tickets for speeding and aggressive driving offences.
• 491 tickets for distracted driving — 411 for using a cellphone while driving and 80 for driving without due care and attention.