Murray Wood: Sunshine sketches of summers past
What are the memories of summers that stick in your mind? Murray Wood ponders how some things will evoke those moments.
Saskatchewan RCMP officers responded to more fatal crashes involving impairment in 2025 than in any of the previous 10 years.
According to the Mounties, officers saw 31 fatal crashes and 82 serious collisions that involved alcohol or drug impairment last year. The RCMP said a total of 1,650 people picked up criminal charges for impaired driving in 2025, while 2,270 drivers had their licences suspended for consuming drugs or alcohol before driving.
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The RCMP noted that those statistics don’t include fatal crashes from other police jurisdictions in the province, private properties, off-road crashes or crashes that resulted from medical emergencies.
“There has been a steady upward trend since 2016, when Saskatchewan RCMP responded to 58 serious and fatal motor-vehicle collisions involving impairment,” superintendent Grant St. Germaine, who leads the Saskatchewan RCMP’s traffic services, said in a statement.
“Saskatchewan RCMP will continue working to remove impaired drivers from our roads, but we also need people to start making safer choices.”
The RCMP said Mounties around the province have been working to reduce the rates of impaired driving by conducting check stops, road safety initiatives, patrols and driver education.
The federal police force encouraged all drivers to give themselves plenty of time to get where they’re going, ensure everyone inside the vehicle is buckled up, keep cell phones out of reach while driving and ensuring a designated driver or a plan for a safe ride is available when consuming drugs or alcohol.
Anyone who spots a driver they suspect to be impaired was advised to pull over and call 911.
“It’s an important safety reminder at a time when Saskatchewan RCMP has responded to an increase in fatal collisions – and as we head into a long weekend when many people will be on the roads,” St. Germaine added.
“Please – for your safety, the safety of your loved ones, and the safety of all road users – drive safely this long weekend. We all have a role to play to reverse these devastating trends.”
