Toronto police launch campaign targeting speeding vehicles this week
The Toronto Police kicked off a week-long safety blitz targetting speeders Monday morning, which follows over 60 drivers being charged with street racing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in the past week.
The “Slow Down Toronto Traffic Campaign” runs from Monday, April 8 to Sunday, April 14. The focus will be on slowing drivers down through enforcement and awareness of the dangers of speeding.
#SlowDownToronto will be the message all week. @TorontoPolice will be out all week issuing tickets but equally important is to get people to think differently on how they see speed. Many see speed limit signs as optional. ^bm pic.twitter.com/5UlSNnoEQ5
— TPS Traffic Services (@TrafficServices) April 8, 2019
“We know that drivers who drive too fast, distracted, aggressively or impaired cause collisions. But it is the speeds that drivers travel at that directly impacts the severity of injury,” said the Toronto Police, in a release.
“Last year 43% of all fatal collisions occurred on roads with posted speed limits above 50km/hr.”
See also
- 67 drivers charged with street racing in the GTA over the past week
- Toronto police investigating after man stabbed at Dufferin Station
- Police looking for driver and vehicle involved in downtown hit and run
“Vulnerable road users are the pedestrians, school children, older adults, cyclists and motorcyclists who are most at risk when a collision happens. Speed is too often a factor,” police said in a release.
In 2018, Toronto Police issued over 45,000 speeding tickets to drivers and approximately 380 summons to drivers for stunt driving.
During the past week, Ontario Provincial Police charged 67 drivers with street racing throughout the GTA. 31 of these incidents occurred over the weekend.
In one incident, a driver was caught going 190 km/hr on Highway 403 in Burlington, while in another, a driver registered over two-times the legal limit of alcohol in addition to speeding.