SGI, police urging drivers to plan a safe ride home on New Year’s Eve

With New Year’s Eve celebrations set to take place across the province, SGI and police are reminding people to plan a safe ride home and avoid driving impaired on the final day of 2021.

In fact, there will be plenty of officers enforcing that message. Temperatures dipping below -30 C won’t prevent the usual activity of sobriety checkstops either.

“The cold does not scare us and does not deter us,” Saskatoon police Staff Sgt. Patrick Barbar said Thursday in advance of the festive end of the year.

“We were out on Tuesday and we will be out again.”

SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy detailed the number of options to get home safely. Taxis, ride-share services, a designated driver and free transit available in Regina and Saskatoon are just some of the ways to plan a safe ride home.

“However you party on New Year’s Eve, we want to make sure you plan a safe ride. There’s always a better option than driving impaired,” he said. “Enforcement is going to be very strong on New Year’s Eve.”

Unmarked police vehicles will also be used to catch impaired drivers. Legislation introduced in 2018 means officers can demand a mandatory breath test from anyone in the driver’s seat.

It shouldn’t be a green Christmas either, with police also using roadside drug screening devices throughout the night to check for weed and cocaine use.

The Saskatoon Police Service said that from Dec. 1 to Christmas Day, 11 drivers were charged with impaired driving. Another 39 drivers had their licences suspended for drug and alcohol violations.

Consequences — depending on the level of impairment and the severity of the offence — can lead to vehicle impoundment, licence suspension, fines, jail time or mandatory driver education.

McMurchy also mentioned the “social costs” of impaired driving, like employment or relationship fallout, and the guilt of being responsible for a potentially life-threatening situation.

Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw are offering free bus rides on public transit on New Year’s Eve. Saskatoon’s buses have had a tough time operating during the recent cold snap as multiple routes were cancelled for at least part of the morning throughout the week.

However, Barbar is confident the system will run smoothly given the more reserved celebrations that are expected during a surge of new Omicron cases in the city.

“Many of the bigger events around Saskatoon, and probably in Regina as well, are being cancelled. So that tells me fewer people are actually going to need to get to different venues around the city, so I think that might end up balancing things out,” he said.

Barbar said people should monitor bus schedules to ensure they’re not stuck out in the cold.

Free bus service starts at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and runs until 3 a.m. on Saturday. Times may vary slightly by the route.