Sask. RCMP handed out 2,100 tickets during safe driving week

The Saskatchewan RCMP has released the results of its officers’ work during National Safe Driving Week.

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 7, RCMP officers in the province stopped 10,441 vehicles and laid 2,137 road safety charges.

Those included 1,291 for speeding, 83 for seat belt misuse, 60 for cellphone use while driving, and 44 for careless driving (including driving without due care and attention, following too closely and changing lanes when it was unsafe to do so).

According to the RCMP, the stops included:

* A driver being pulled over Dec. 1 for driving 183 kilometres per hour in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 7 near Kindersley. The driver received a $1,168 fine.

* A motorist in Prince Albert travelling 54 km/h in a 30 km/h school zone on Dec. 3.

“The driver did not have a valid licence and the vehicle registration was expired,” the RCMP said in a media release. “In addition, the windshield had numerous cracks. An infant was sitting in a booster seat that was not fully secured to the vehicle and the belt straps were not tightened.”

The driver received fines totalling $1,346.

* A vehicle drifting out of its lane on the Trans-Canada Highway near Balgonie on Dec. 5.

“As the officer pulled up beside the moving vehicle, the officer saw the driver holding a tablet on the steering wheel,” the release said. “During the traffic stop, the driver told the officer he was trying to log into a tablet for a conference call.”

The driver received a $280 fine.

As well, the RCMP charged 39 people with impaired driving during the week.