Headlights, taillights, and more are an important part of driving, helping people see where they're going and what other people are doing.

For that reason, police officers tend to keep an eye on the lights of cars, looking for which might be nonfunctional.

In the province, Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan has issued 254 charges and 2615 warnings to drivers in Saskatchewan for headlight, taillight, or turn signal violations so far this year.

Estevan Police Service Chief Rich Lowen details how many warnings the EPS has had to give out over the past couple of years.

"I can give you the numbers: for 2022, we had 52 total in regards to inadequate headlights, inadequate tail lights, and failing to use signal lights. In 2023, so far we've had 21."

Whether that ends up as a warning or a more significant charge depends on a few factors.

"There's really no specific line. It's up to officers discretion in terms of how they deal with it and it can be dependent on if there are other offenses that are taking place, whether that's speeding, any other kind of driving offenses, or license offenses," said Lowen, "It can depend on whether or not a person's been warned previously, things like that, and whether or not it's going to be a warning or an offense notice. So it's really dependent on the situation."

Lowen also gives a few tips to make sure your vehicle is running in great condition.

"Always do a pre-inspection when you're when you're driving a vehicle, and take a walk around occasionally when you're looking at your vehicle. Pay attention to what you're warning lights are telling you. A lot of vehicles will give you an indicator on the dash that there's something wrong with your headlights."

"Sometimes if the taillight is out. You'll see your signal indicator go to double speed so you'll know that there's something wrong with your lights. But pay attention to your vehicle and make sure you get it serviced regularly."