Photo radar makes ‘significant’ impact in reducing speed, study shows

Automated speed enforcement devices began operating in 2020 issuing tickets to those clocked driving beyond the speed limit at community safety zones.

Thestar.com
July 12, 2023
Santiago Arias Orozco

Data from a three-year study shows Toronto drivers have “significantly” slowed down behind the wheel in community safety zones surveilled by municipal speed cameras.

The research points out the number of drivers clocked travelling beyond a posted limit plummeted by 80 per cent over the last three years in locations monitored with automated speed enforcement (ASE) devices, after more than 685.000 speed tickets have been issued.

“This is a testament to the program’s effectiveness in slowing down drivers and creating a safer environment,” Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said.

Collision and speed rate data from 204 locations was collected from January 2020 to December 2022 in an evaluation study conducted by Toronto Metropolitan University and SickKids hospital.

The photo radar cameras began operating in July 2020, taken in tandem with other measures to increase road safety by snapping photos of speeding cars that, after police review, trigger tickets to the owner of the vehicle. ASE devices have been installed in 75 local, collector and arterial roads, being rotated and relocated every three to six months within each ward.

City hall added the speed cameras have proved useful in mitigating “potential risk” associated with high-speed traffic, encouraging drivers to reduce the speed at which most travel in free-flowing conditions.

“These findings, coupled with the other Vision Zero measures the City continues to implement, reaffirm our dedication to implementing evidence-based strategies for road safety,” McKelvie said.

According to the study, the number of drivers clocked speeding in 30, 40 and 50 kilometres per hour speed limit zones dropped by 45 per cent since 2020. And following the instalment of an ASE device, the city witnessed an 87 per cent plunge in “excessive speeding” cases at community safety zones with speed limits above 20 kilometres per hour.

“This represents an overall decrease of approximately seven kilometres per hour in vehicle operating speeds in areas with an ASE device,” the city said.

Dr. Andrew Howard, SickKids senior scientist at the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program, said ASE cameras have proven useful in “substantially” reducing motor vehicle speed in school zones, adding these devices can bring Toronto one step closer to realize its vision of zero deaths or severe injuries related to road traffic

“News of severe and fatal child pedestrian injuries is all too common in Toronto. All childhood traffic injuries are preventable, and vehicle speed reduction is a cornerstone of prevention,” Howard said.

City hall lobbied the Ministry of Transportation years before municipalities were allowed to implement mobile and automated speed enforcement cameras in 2019. The photo radar devices are now part of the Toronto’s “Vision Zero” campaign to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist deaths.

Preliminary findings from a previous study conducted by the same research partners showed photo radar has triggered “a remarkable reduction in traffic speeding near our schools,” a year after the city deployed its first 50 cameras, with a 36 per cent drop on vehicle speeding instances in monitored zones.