Saskatchewan blitz seeks to curb intersection collisions

Traffic enforcement officers will be focused on intersection safety during Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI)’s two-day blitz, Operation Crossroads, which runs Aug. 22 to 23.

Enforcement staff across the province, but with a concentrated effort in the Prince Albert area, will be on the lookout for both motorists and pedestrians who violate traffic laws, SGI reports in a statement.

Violations include jaywalking, failing to yield to pedestrians or oncoming traffic and failing to stop at stops signs or red lights. The enforcement blitz also affords officers an opportunity to check for seatbelt and cellphone use violations, two of the leading causes of collisions and fatalities on our roads.

“We hope that by continuing to focus on the dangers of distracted driving and proper use of seatbelts we can reduce the number of fatalities we see on Saskatchewan roads,” Chief Troy Hagen, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, says in the statement.

Almost half of all collisions in the province occur at intersections and the number of crashes increased in 2011 over 2010, says Andrew Cartmell, president and CEO of SGI.

Last year, there were more than 13,000 collisions at intersections across the province, resulting in almost 3,800 injuries and 39 fatalities.