If you're caught texting and driving or otherwise not focused on the road in Saskatchewan, the penalties are about to get stiffer. Beginning on February first, fines for distracted driving will rise throughout the province, and police will be keeping an extra sharp eye out for those in violation. 

"On February first, the price of distracted driving increases sharply here in Saskatchewan, with a first time ticket going to $580," said SGI media relations representative Tyler McMurchy. "Subsequent offences will increase sharply after that if you get multiple offenses in one year."

With smart phones being everywhere now, police have seen everything from texting and driving to watching Netflix or YouTube and driving, and it is one of the most common tickets they hand out. In fatal crashes in Saskatchewan, one driver being distracted is among the most likely causes. 

"Distracted driving is one of the most significant concerns that we have on the roads here in Saskatchewan," McMurchy said."It's a leading cause of collisions and injuries, and also fatalities. Year in and year out it's usually the top contributor in collisions, it's the top factor in collisions that injure people, and it's second only to impaired driving when it comes to collisions that kill people."

According to McMurchy, distracted driving is just about everywhere, and while it doesn't always involve a cell phone, it's a safe bet that will be the case. Police issued more and more tickets as 2019 went on, in what McMurchy said was a noticeable uptick in distracted drivers getting caught. 

"It doesn't take much effort when you're out driving to spot someone on their phone," he said, "or not paying attention in other ways behind the wheel. That's what the ticket increase is meant to deter. We really want to see fewer people driving distracted. Our roads will be much safer as a result." 

Police services around the province have had no hesitation backing SGI on this. In fact, since 2014, 120 police officers have been added to traffic enforcement units. Though tickets dropped off in the month of November, and December's numbers haven't come in yet, police issued more than 1000 tickets in several months in 2019. And SGI and the police will be focusing closely on it in February as the SGI Traffic Safety Spotlight will be on distracted driving.

"Normally we have it in March, but we moved it this year to February to coincide with the focus on the new ticket prices," said McMurchy. "The law itself surrounding distracted driving is not changing. The definition of what constitutes driving without due care and attention, there's been no change to that, there's been no change to the cellphone law that states you can't hold, use, manipulate, or view a handheld electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. So if you haven't been getting distracted driving tickets before, you really don't have anything to worry about now. If you keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road, you'll be fine."

McMurchy added that 80-90 percent of distracted driving tickets are for cell phone use, and it's pretty easy for officers to tell when you're on your phone.