This month’s SGI traffic safety spotlight is targeting drivers who don’t obey traffic control devices or yield the right of way.  

Tyler McMurchy, spokesperson for SGI, said that 10 per cent of all collisions having failing to yield as a factor. “That’s about 2700 collisions a year in Saskatchewan.” 

“Those collisions often result in an injury – about an average of 1000 injuries and 6.2 deaths per year from collisions that had failing to yield as a factor,” added McMurchy. 

Drivers should come to a complete stop behind the stop line at all stop signs and stop lights. When turning right on a red light, they should look both ways and ensure that there are no pedestrians, bicycles, or oncoming traffic before proceeding into the nearest driving lane.  

When turning left on a green light, motorists should also check for pedestrians and oncoming traffic before making their turn.  

If you’re at an intersection with no stop signs, the right of way belongs to the motorist on the right.  

“We want people to understand that yielding is an important part of safely navigating an intersection. A lot of collisions happen at intersections, and failure to yield is a significant contributor to that,” said McMurchy.  

Along with incurring four demerits, a ticket for disobeying signs and lights will cost $230.