Suspended Saskatchewan drivers driving without licenses/insurance

Saskatchewan drivers who have had their licences suspended for the first time due to a Criminal Code conviction continue to drive without their licences and without insurance, according to a study conducted by Synectics Transportation Consultants Inc. (Synectics).
SGI cooperated fully with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada and Synectics in the study. The research provided comprehensive data on trends in disqualifications and driver response to these safe driving measures.
The study also presented statistics that show suspended drivers are more likely to be in a fatal crash.
“This study tells us many first offenders are still driving with suspended licences – and evidence from Canadian and U.S. studies anywhere from 60 – 75% of suspended drivers drive,” MADD Canada CEO Andrew Murie said in a press release. “In Saskatchewan, we know that one in five of these suspended drivers are involved caught with another traffic offence or involved in a subsequent vehicle collision.
“The disturbing thing about unlicenced and uninsured drivers is they are the ones who are a higher risk of getting involved in a crash. In fact, this study shows that those drivers who do not complete their remedial program are more than twice as likely to involved in another crash or traffic violation.”
Based on the study results, MADD Canada has made important recommendations to Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) to make the province’s roads safer from the threat of unlicenced and uninsured drivers. Those recommendations are to:
reintroduce the requirement that autobody shops not carry out repairs exceeding $1,000 on a vehicle if there is no indication that the crash has been reported to the police;
take a more aggressive approach to vehicle impoundment for all unlicensed drivers showing clear evidence of driving, as indicated in their licence history;
follow up with individuals failing to attend their initial addiction screening session in a timely fashion;
encourage police services to distribute to field staff the names of all unlicensed drivers, their vehicle ownership and licence information;
increase the statutory authority of the police to stop and demand personal identification and licence information; and
target individuals at a higher risk of driving unlicensed, through periodic sweeps of their place of residence to determine if the individual is driving.
“There are effective measures that SGI can implement to make it harder for suspended drivers to get in behind the wheel of a vehicle,” Murie said. “We encourage SGI to take some simple, yet significant steps to make Saskatchewan roads safer from these higher-risk motorists.”