By Adriana Christianson

RCMP: 2012 becoming a deadly year on Saskatchewan highways

Oct 24, 2012 | 1:45 PM

When you start your car and head out on the highway you never expect the worst to happen, but this year fatal car crashes seem to be on the rise in Saskatchewan.

On Sunday an 18-year-old woman from Regina died in a rollover near Pangman and just yesterday another person driving a mini-van died in a crash with a semi near Kindersley. They are just he latest RCMP Staff Sgt. David Domoney with traffic services said as of Tuesday October 23, 138 people have died on the highways this year.

“We are on track to have more fatalities this year in the province of Saskatchewan than we have for many years,” he said.

He says fatal crashes are happening in many different regions across the province under several different circumstances. The overwhelming majority are still caused by a problem we have heard about for years.

“Still our number one factor is impaired driving in this year’s fatalities,” Domoney said.

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The other major cause is driver inattention which can include anything from using cellphones, to falling asleep on the road or not paying attention at intersections.

As for what can save your life if the worst should happen, the answer is having the common sense to buckle up.

“Something that turned out to be a fatal crash as oppose to an injury crash is the people that are wearing their seatbelts are more often injured and the people that are not wearing their seatbelts of course usually lead to a fatality,” he said.

Considering that we are just heading into the dangerous winter months with ice and snow on the roads, Domoney is reminding all drivers to take extra precautions. His advice is to make sure your tires are in good condition for winter driving and to slow down.

“Because we’re getting into the winter months it’s really important that you take that extra time and give yourself a half hour extra,” Domoney said.

Through the winter the ministry of highways provides road reports on driving conditions updated constantly through the Highway Hotline.

news@panow.com

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