Walking around Humboldt, people may see some red thumb nails this week.
Shari Hinz with Safe Communities Humboldt and Area is getting out into the community to talk National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) which runs from Oct. 15-21.
“Young people make up just 12 per cent of licensed drivers, but account for approximately 20 per cent of all road-related injuries and deaths,” said Hinz, Executive Director of Safe Communities Humboldt & Area in a press release.
“Through NTDSW and community initiatives like the Red Thumb Reminder campaign, we are encouraging young drivers to think about risks and responsibility - and why they should choose to make safety their number one priority.”
The red thumb is just a simple reminder to stay away from the phone while driving, says Hinz, and she is getting many Humboldt residents involved, including the Humboldt Broncos, and many people who came to visit the NTDSW kick off event on Oct. 14 at Discovery Ford.
“Driving should command 100 per cent of your attention at all times. You never know when something could happen, whether it’s animals crossing highways.”
The event at Discovery Ford included their Drive 4UR Community fundraiser as well as the SGI One Simple Decision Driver Simulator.
“Individuals can see what it’s like firsthand to drive distracted or impaired in a virtual setting,” said Hinz in a press release.
Hinz says it is important for people to realize that hands free is not distraction free and there are so many factors to safe driving, including impaired, drugged, and aggressive driving habits, which all contribute to injuries and fatal collisions.
They are on the rise in this province year after year, says Hinz, with distracted driving being the number one cause of Saskatchewan collisions and the number two factor in fatal collisions, according to SGI statistics.
“It’s important to create that awareness and bring to light the issue of what’s happening out on our roadways.”
According to SGI, in 2016, 42 people were killed and 1,205 injured in nearly 8,300 collisions where distracted driving was a factor.
Nearly 16 per cent of fatal crashes were related to distracted driving with 22 per cent related to alcohol, and 9 per cent related to speed.
This has been an upward trend for the past three years in the number of fatalities, injuries, and collisions related to distracted driving, says SGI.
“Anything that we can do as an organization to create that awareness surrounding the dangers of those types of driving habits, it’s really important to instill those messages.”
While the focus is on teen and new drivers, these issues are not just young driver issues, says Hinz.
“Certainly those aged 19-24 year old drivers are at highest risk for collisions involving a number of factors but it’s not just the young drivers but also the adults on the road.”
