WEYBURN – Police officers and representatives from 14 different agencies, detachments and departments converged on Weyburn on Wednesday and Thursday for the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP), funded in part by SGI.
“I can tell you that the 35 officers were kept busy for both parts of the project, hitting the streets and highways Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. A total of 432 infractions were identified and dealt with by either issuing a ticket or a warning to the motorist, and that’s a combined total resulting from checking both commercial and private vehicles and operators,” said Weyburn’s Deputy Chief Brent VanDeSype on Friday.
Officers were in Weyburn from Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, the RCMP and Conservation officers, and operating in teams of four to six spread out to various locations, such as school zones by Legacy Park and the Weyburn Comp, along Government Road by Souris Avenue, near the intersection of Highway 39 and Government Road, and at the intersection of 16th Street and First Avenue.
Asked how the traffic operation went, the deputy chief said, “Overall, the two-day traffic safety initiative was well received and is considered a success, and although some that received a ‘reminder’ may see it differently, the vast majority of motorists were in compliance and thankful to see such a focus on keeping our roads safe.”
STEP is a multi-agency task force dedicated to improving traffic safety across Saskatchewan.
In addition to the enforcement activities, SGI did several car seat inspections during STEP, and gave out two booster seats and one convertible child seat free of charge during the event.
Broken down by day and by charges, the following were the warnings and tickets issued by the officers on Wednesday: Fail to stop/light, one; speeding, nine; seatbelts-driver/passenger/car seat, eight; cell phones/driving without due care, four; impaired low, 0; impaired (Criminal Code), 0; vehicle equipment regulation (VER) offences, 48; other traffic safety act (Traffic Safety Act) offences, 40; VER inspection tickets, 98; car seats checked, five; commercial vehicle total units, 24; CV passed, five; CV need attention, three; CV out of service, three; total defects, 31. Day 1 total violations: 244.
On Thursday, the following tickets or warnings were issued: fail to stop/light, 14; speeding, one; seatbelts-driver/passenger/car seat, seven; cell phones/due care, three; impaired low, 0; impaired (Criminal Code), 0; VER offences, 60; other TSA, 31; VER inspection tickets, 48; commercial vehicle total units, 19; CV passed, one; CV need attention, two; CV out of service, five; total defects, 24. Day 2 total violations: 188.
