As people get ready to celebrate the beginning of a new year, SGI reminds residents to be safe.

Whether you are going out to a bar, house party, or just celebrating with friends, SGI wants to make sure you don’t start the new year in a jail cell or, worst, in the back of an ambulance.

“We want to make sure that you plan a safe ride if those plans include the consumption of alcohol, cannabis, or any other impairing substances,” Tyler McMurchy, the manager of media relations with SGI, said. “We know that New Year’s Eve is also a time when police are out enforcing impaired driving laws. We want drivers to encounter those police to make sure they are sober.”

McMurchy said there are always better options than driving impaired.

“If you are not going to be sober, you will avail yourself of numerous options for a safe ride home, including a cab, designated driving service that takes you and your vehicle home, rideshare, you can also take the bus for free,” he said. “If you want to not spend any money, you can also just plan to turn it into a pyjama party, crash on the couch, stay the night, and go home in the morning when you are sober.”

He also noted that police would be focusing on catching impaired drivers over the next couple of days.

“Enforcement is going to be very strong on New Year’s Eve; in fact, tonight and tomorrow night on New Year’s Eve, they are going to be check stops in multiple locations in Saskatchewan,” he said. “I want drivers to assume that if they are heading out, they leave their house, they will encounter a police check stop or they may encounter an unmarked police vehicle, that they will be out there looking for impaired drivers.”

McMurchy added that if you encounter a check stop or get pulled over by the police, the best way to make sure that this New Year starts off the right way is by making sure there is a sober driver behind the wheel.