Saskatchewan General Insurance recently released the numbers for their June Traffic Safety Spotlight. This month's spotlight focused largely on distracted driving. In the release, SGI expressed its disappointment with drivers after 700 tickets were issued for distracted driving in June alone.

"It's not surprising to see bigger numbers in any given month when you're focusing on distracted driving because police are focusing on it too," said Tyler McMurchy, Media Relations Manager with SGI. "When it comes to distracted driving, obviously if people weren't doing it the police wouldn't catch them."

In the release with these numbers, SGI says they understand the past few months have been eventful and hectic with a lot on all of our minds, however, it is no excuse to drive distracted. In June, 700 tickets were issued to distracted drivers, 605 of which were cited for using cellphones while driving.

Distracted driving is a leading contributor to collisions and people getting harmed on Saskatchewan roads. While there are many potential distractions for drivers, from food to radios, a majority of tickets come from cellphone use. SGI suggests putting your phone away, on silent mode, or out of reach while driving. This greatly reduces the temptation to pick it up and check texts or FaceBook which could result in hefty fines.

"Look, we understand a lot has been going on in the past couple of months in the world. And we've all had a lot on our minds. But that really is no excuse to drive distracted, or impaired for that matter," McMurchy added. "We want to keep everybody safe. Especially when the weather is nice, there are a lot more people on the road."

SGI also reported there were higher numbers for other traffic violations. There were 395 impaired driving offences, 7,803 tickets for aggressive driving and speeding, and 533 tickets for seatbelts and child restraints being used incorrectly or not at all. McMurchy expressed SGI's frustration with the seatbelt tickets, saying this should not happen in the year 2020. He says it takes almost no time at all to buckle up before driving to help keep yourself safe in the event of a collision.