SGI offers drivers reminder to properly buckle up or be penalized

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has issued an advisory warning to drivers that getting caught without wearing seatbelts is not just dangerous, but also very costly.

Citing police records, SGI noted that there were 447 tickets issued for seatbelt and car seat violations in January 2023. When broken down to specific cases, 380 tickets were issued by police to drivers for not wearing seatbelts, 47 tickets to passengers not wearing a seatbelt, and another 20 tickets to drivers for children not being restrained in the correct booster or car seat.

According to SGI, each of the tickets cost $175, which meant drivers in January paid a total of $78,225 because they did not follow seatbelt and booster seat rules. While the seatbelt violations are costly, SGI offered a reminder that the tickets also come with three demerit points, which can lead to additional financial penalties or loss of insurance discounts under the Safe Driver Recognition program.

“Of all the reasons you should wear a seatbelt, the most important one is the fact that it significantly increases the chance that you’ll escape serious injury or death in the event of a collision,” SGI said in a release. “In Saskatchewan, the approximately 5% of people who don’t wear seatbelts represented one-third of drivers or passengers who lost their lives in auto crashes.”

The insurer also noted that in 2021, 20 drivers and passengers were killed in auto collisions because they were not wearing seatbelts.

SGI remains committed to keeping Saskatchewan’s roads safer for all. In a recent interview with Insurance Business, SGI Auto Fund executive vice president and chief operating officer JP Cullen said that the insurer is taking “extensive efforts” to tackle the issue of impaired driving in the province, through its monthly traffic spotlights, campaigns, and even funding for increased police enforcement.