Saskatchewan RCMP say four common driving offences are behind a rising number of fatalities on Saskatchewan highways this summer. The RCMP Traffic Services division says so far in 2026, there have been 68 deaths from 55 fatal collisions within Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction. Last year at this time, there were 53 fatal collisions resulting in 58 deaths. Staff Sgt. Jason Sauve says what’s more troubling is the number of fatal collisions since the start of July. “To us, it’s obviously shocking,” he said. “I think that’s the part that’s stuck out. From July to now, it seems like every couple days that there’s been a fatality on our highways, which is never an easy thing to read.” On Saturday morning, a man died after his motorcycle was found in a slough along Highway 2, roughly one kilometre north of Domremy. In a statement on social media, the St. Louis Fire Department said was dispatched at 9:42 a.m. By the time first responders arrived, bystanders pulled the man from the water. CPR and other lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful. A 27-year-old from Saskatoon died after the pickup truck he was driving collided with the centre pillar of the Boychuck Drive and Highway 16 overpass early Sunday morning. According to a news release from the Saskatoon Fire Department, the truck was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. Traffic restrictions were in place for most of Sunday morning. Over the long weekend, there were five deaths from three separate vehicle collisions. The first occurred on Aug. 1 when a 34-year-old woman from Saskatoon died when a vehicle she was a passenger in rolled on Highway 16 northwest of Maymont. The driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. On Aug. 2, a rollover on the George Gordon First Nation claimed the lives of three people - a 42-year-old woman and two 43-year-old men. Two other people in the vehicle were taken to hospital. Sauve says when reviewing the July crashes, there were three common causes of collisions: impaired driving, speeding and not wearing a seatbelt. “I think it’s very preventable,” he said. “It takes only a few seconds to click your seatbelt on.” Sauve said officers will be out across the province to keep motorists safe and to remind drivers not to drive impaired, not to drive while distracted, not to speed and to always wear a seatbelt. With files from Hallee Mandryk
