New data from the City of Toronto’s speed cameras shows a “significant” reduction in speeding as well as overall vehicle speeds since the program was launched.
Between January 2020 and December 2022, researchers from SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University collected speed and collision data at the more than 200 locations that had an Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) device. Although school closures and stay-at-home orders had some impact on the research, “substantial” data was also collected during normal periods of vehicular traffic, according to a media release from the City of Toronto.
According to the collected data, the proportion of people dropped across the board - from approximately 60 to 43 in 30 kilometre an hour zone, 51 to 30 in 40 kilometre an hour zones, and 58 to 36 per cent in 50 kilometre an hour zones.
The data suggests an overall 45 per cent reduction in people speeding in areas with an ASE device, as well as an overall reduction of approximately seven kilometres per hour in vehicle operating speeds in areas with an ASE device.
Tellingly, the data also suggests vehicle speeds increase when ASE devices are removed. According to the report, speeds at 39 different locations increased when the devices were removed, though did not reach pre-ASE speeds.
“The reduction in vehicle speeds and in the percentage of vehicles speeding was substantial and occurred in all phases of the study and uniformly across the city,” the report states.
Today, the data shows the most significant drop in speeding in 60 kilometre per hour speed limit zones, with a drop from 38.5 per cent of cars speeding in the first 90 days of ASE device use to 20.2 per cent of cars speeding in the overall time frame of the study.
The study also found the percentage of drivers exceeding the speed limit decreased at 80 per cent of locations with an ASE device. Excessive speeding – driving over the speed limit by 20 km/h or more – was also reduced by 87 per cent after the placement of an ASE device.
There are currently 75 devices in Toronto which issue tickets to speeding vehicle though the city plans to double the number of camera to 150. The devices are part of the city’s Vision Zero program, which additionally includes road engineering measures, driver education initiatives and traditional police enforcement.
Last week, CP24.com reported that the devices were vandalized 555 times over a one-year period, though most of those incidents did not result in the cameras being taken out of service.
"We really believe [ASE devices] are a critical tool in the toolbox in terms of helping drivers realize that slowing down saves lives," said Barbara Gray, general manager of transportation services for the CIty of Toronto, in an interview. "It's very, very promising."
