By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — November 14, 2018 — Strict new distracted driving fines in Manitoba have Saskatchewan thinking twice.
Fines in Manitoba have gone up from $203 to $672, transitioning from having one of the lowest distracted driving fines in Canada to now having one of the harshest.
This prompted the minister responsible for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, Joe Hargave, to state he’s not afraid to follow the same regulations.
A distracted driving fine in Saskatchewan right now is among the lowest in the country. The fine for driving while using your Smartphone in the province is $280.
These aren’t the first provinces in Canada to shift towards stricter fines. Prince Edward Island’s fine is $575, while B.C. fines first offenders $543 and repeat offenders up to $888. For Ontario the fine is $490 but if you try to fight it and lose it goes up to $1,000.
The reason these fines have increased is because insurance agencies are pushing for stronger punishments.
In 2012, there were 4,780 distracted driving-related crashes in Manitoba; that number increased in 2017. In Saskatchewan last year there were 6,399 distracted driving related crashes.
Data from SGI shows that distracted driving collisions have been up and down in the past few years.
