Convictions for distracted driving on the rise in Sask.

July 7th, 2016  |  Auto

More people are getting caught using their cell phones on the road in Saskatchewan according to Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).

Cell phone use while driving was banned in the province in 2010. That year there were just over 1,800 convictions. You would hope people would get the message and put their phones away when they’re driving but instead as smartphones really started to evolve post-2010, people have even less reason to put theirs down.

Convictions in the province peaked in 2014 at 4,900 and improved somewhat last year with 4,300. Still, the trend is clearly of the upward variety and while part of that can be attributed to better police tactics to spot these offences, SGI minister Don McMorris acknowledges that mostly people just aren’t driving responsibly, and getting sneakier at it too.

“You know people are getting away from holding the phone to the ear because they know that's too obvious, so they're texting down below and their eyes are down,” he said according to CTV News.

While Saskatchewan has some of the lowest auto insurance rates in the country, they won’t stay that way if you get caught driving using your cell phone!