The City of Toronto’s 50 Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) devices issued a total of 21,242 tickets in September, the fourth month of enforcement at the third round of locations near schools in Community Safety Zones.
Between September 1 and September 30, the device on Victoria Park Avenue, near Tiago Avenue, issued the most tickets at 2,664, or 13 per cent of all tickets. According to the data, there were 926 repeat offenders in September with the two most frequent repeat offenders each receiving five tickets for speeding on Bamburgh Circle and Military Trail in Scarborough.
The uptick in the number of tickets issued in September when compared to July and August is likely due to traffic volumes increasing city-wide as students returned to in-class learning
The devices issued a total of 18,619 tickets in July and 18,114 tickets in August, the second and third months of enforcement at the third round of camera locations. The full enforcement data for July and August is available here.
All ASE devices have now rotated to the fourth round of locations to help reduce speeding at more areas with safety concerns, encourage a wide-ranging deterrent effect and raise public awareness about the need to slow down and obey posted speed limits. Signs have been posted at all locations to warn drivers in advance.
The current ASE locations are:
The total payable fine amount includes a set fine, which is determined by Schedule D under the Provincial Offences Act, a victim fine surcharge and applicable court costs. ASE tickets do not incur any demerit points and do not affect a person’s driving record.
The City continues to retroactively process Part III offences for excessive speeding incidents captured by the ASE devices following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Excessive speeding is when a vehicle has exceeded the speed limit by 50 km/h or more. Under provincial regulations, there is no set fine for charges related to excessive speeding. Instead, a summons will be served to the registered vehicle owner to appear before a Justice of the Peace.
To date, 197 Part III charges have been laid since the start of enforcement on July 6, 2020. The highest excessive speed detected was 141 km/h in a 50 km/h speed limit zone on Martin Grove Road, north of Garfella Drive. The device at this location also captured 33 Part III offenders, the highest since enforcement began.
The 50 ASE devices are installed near schools in Community Safety Zones. Sites are selected primarily based on data that indicate where speed and collision challenges exist. Each ward has two ASE devices that capture and record images of vehicles travelling in excess of the posted speed limit.
The ASE program aims to increase road safety, reduce speeding and raise public awareness about the need to slow down and obey posted speed limits. It is designed to work in tandem with other Vision Zero methods and strategies, including engineering measures, education initiatives and traditional police enforcement.
More information about the program, how to pay fees and a map of all current and planned locations are available online .
Quotes:
“The Automated Speed Enforcement program continues to promote safe driving by reducing speeds near schools in Community Safety Zones. This program, coupled with the many Vision Zero initiatives we are deploying across the city, is an essential speed management measure that we are using to ensure our streets are safer for everyone, especially for schoolchildren, older adults, pedestrians and cyclists.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Speeding is a serious public health issue in Toronto and across the country. It not only endangers the lives of those who choose to exceed the speed limit, but it also puts the lives of those around them at great risk. We’re confident Automated Speed Enforcement, in addition to the many Vision Zero measures we have in place, will help put an end to speeding in our city.”
– Councillor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park), Chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee
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