Five people have died following three separate vehicle collisions that took place on Saskatchewan highways over the long weekend. The first occurred Saturday morning when a 34-year-old woman from Saskatoon died when a vehicle she was a passenger in rolled on highway 16 northwest of Maymont. The driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. On Sunday a rollover on the George Gordon First Nation claimed the lives of three people - a 42-year-old woman and two 43-year-old men. Two other people in the vehicle were taken to hospital. “In all three crashes that took place, seatbelts were a contributing factor, so the deceased weren’t wearing seatbelts,” Superintendent Grant St. Germaine, the Officer in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP Traffic Services said. St. Germaine added alcohol also played a role in two of the collisions. “In two of those three accidents we found what indicated that alcohol consumption had been taking place. That’s not saying that the driver was impaired, but alcohol was found in the vehicle or open containers.” This summer has proven to be a dangerous one on Saskatchewan roadways. According to RCMP, 38 people have died after 30 collisions between June 1 and Aug 4. “I can’t recall ever having a June or July like this, and we’re just into the third or fourth days of August. Bery concerning for us,” St. Germaine said. According to SGI, July historically sees a higher number of collisions compared to other months. “Our highways are a very busy place this time of year. We know people are out traveling, maybe heading out to the lake, maybe to a new destination. And of course, the more people are on those roadways, those risks increase,” explained Heather Hubic, manager of media relations at SGI. Hubic says SGI primarily focuses on four main factors when it comes to road safety: impaired driving, distracted driving, following the speed limit wearing a seatbelt. “It takes two seconds, but still we see people not always buckling up or thinking they’re going from a short destination and they don’t need to put on their seatbelt. The reality is that can prevent a fatal collision.” St. Germaine emphasised the difference between collisions involving occupants who wore their seatbelts compared to those who did not is drastic. “The seatbelt legislation came into effect back in the early 70’s. So it’s probably been over 50 years that you’re supposed to be wearing a seatbelt. And a lot of these accidents, the crash is survivable if you’re wearing a seatbelt. But if you’re not wearing a seatbelt you die as a result of being ejected from the vehicle.” So far 67 people have died across 54 fatal collisions on highways in Saskatchewan this year. St. Germaine says that’s cause for concern among law enforcement officers. “This past weekend we increased our visibility. We did a lot more check stops in places. And just as an example, in the Lumsden area, we did eight check stops this weekend and we took 19 impaired drivers off the road for criminal code, and close to another 30 for drug and alcohol administrative sanctions.” St. Germaine emphasised factors like seatbelts, alcohol, speeding, and distracted driving are all within the control of those who get behind the wheel, and he is urging motorists to use their best judgement when travelling on roadways. “It’s all preventable. And it’s a choice. A poor choice that somebody made that either caused them or people in their vehicle to become a victim.”
