In April, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is focusing its traffic safety spotlight on suspended drivers and unregistered vehicles – many of which are detected by police using Automated License Plate Readers (APLRs).
SGI said in 2021, police in Saskatchewan caught 2,000 people who were driving with suspended licenses.
“It’s a pretty big issue,” Tyler McMurchy, a spokesperson for SGI, said. “On any given day, there’s about 60,000 to 61,000 people suspended from driving for one of a number of different reasons in Saskatchewan. Of course that can fluctuate day-to-day because some are long term and some are short term suspensions.”
McMurchy said most of the people who are suspended follow the law and do not operate a vehicle until the suspension is over.
“Although there are a number of people who continue to drive, unfortunately, while they’re suspended,” he said.
There are 185 ALPRs in law enforcement vehicles across the province. The small cameras read license plates as they pass police vehicles.
Automated License Plate Readers (APLRs) are used to find suspended drivers and unregistered vehicles. (Stefanie Davis/CTVNews)
“[The ALPR] will pick up vehicles that are traveling away from us in both directions and on both sides of the vehicle,” Cpl. Jason Wilkinson with the Regina Police Service Combined Traffic Unit said. “A vehicle will pass by, the technology picks up that plate and it does a quick read of that plate through the SGI system and the [Canadian Police Information Centre] and it will tell us whether or not that has a hit.”
The reader detects infractions like suspended licenses, unregistered vehicles, stolen plates and warrants.
(Stefanie Davis/CTVNews)
“It creates an exponential difference in how many of these people you can actually identify and catch,” Cpl. Wilkinson said.
SGI said infractions like driving with a suspended license can result in fines, vehicle impoundment and in some cases, jail time.
An unregistered vehicle can result in a $580 fine and could lead to a vehicle impoundment.