Over the past two days Campus Safety participated in a province-wide crackdown on dangerous driving billed as March Madness.

According to the On Patrol blog, on March 14 and 15, Campus Safety heavily patrolled Campus Drive and North Road watching for traffic offenses.

Campus Safety spokesperson Harold Shiffman said additional officers were assigned to the March Madness duty and were watching for drivers speeding, not wearing seat belts, blowing stop signs and driving with undue care.

March Madness was conducted as part of the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, or STEP, which schedules certain days throughout each year for law enforcement agencies across Saskatchewan to target specific traffic violations.

In Estevan, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina and Saskatoon police services were acting with extra vigilance the past two days to bust erratic drivers.

STEP regularly runs campaigns in the spring and fall watching for drivers not wearing seat belts, and plans check stops during the Christmas season to pull impaired drivers off the road.

“Through the hard work of the STEP committee and the represented agencies, Saskatchewan has become known as a world leader in seat belt usage. Through the efforts of STEP, seat belt usage rose from 59 per cent in 1986 to 90 per cent in 2000 throughout urban centres,” says STEP’s website.

Shiffman said the number of citations handed out on campus in the last two days has been “fairly significant,” however the exact number of dangerous drivers caught because of the March Madness blitz will not be released for about a week.

Shiffman said the increase could also be due to the nice weather, explaining that drivers sometimes feel they can drive faster now that the snow has begun to melt.

“Whatever it is, it’s always good for drivers to be reminded to be safe,” Shiffman said.

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Photo: Supplied