A flurry of speeding tickets issued by police Tuesday might have the effect of slowing traffic on the Malahat 鈥� for a day or two. For lasting impact, enforcement of the speed limit and other highway regulations should be sustained, saturated and consistent.
When it鈥檚 a certainty that speeders will be caught, driving behaviour will change. Photo radar or some other form of automated enforcement can ensure that certainty.
It was a tough weekend on the bottleneck called the Malahat. Three accidents in 36 hours left one person dead and 10 people injured, and closed the highway for hours.
On Tuesday, police issued 25 speeding tickets and impounded three vehicles of drivers who drove more than 40 kilometres an hour over the speed limit.
Police say speeding was a factor in one of the accidents 鈥� drunk driving and an unlicensed teenage driver were blamed for the other two 鈥� but police were correct to focus on speeding. It鈥檚 the leading cause of traffic fatalities, says the Insurance Corp. of B.C.
鈥淪peed increases the risk of vehicle collisions,鈥� says the Ministry of Justice website. 鈥淐rashes causing damages and injuries take a huge toll on insurance and other costs; however 鈥� the greatest cost of speed is trauma and human life. It is clear that reduced speeds not only reduce the likelihood of a crash but also reduce the severity of injuries when crashes occur.鈥�
But while at least two government agencies decry speeding, another appears to enable speeders. In 2014, Transportation Minister Todd Stone raised speed limits on 1,300 kilometres of B.C. roads, up to 120 km/h on some highways.
That move came despite concerns from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, which favoured lowering speed limits, and from the RCMP and the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police.
The higher speed limits, although they don鈥檛 directly affect the Malahat, and new laws against 鈥渓eft-lane hogs鈥� help cultivate a climate of speeding at a time when those who have first-hand experience with the effects of speeding 鈥� coroners, police and emergency-room physicians 鈥� would rather see drivers slow down.
A police presence accomplishes that, but police can鈥檛 be everywhere at once. Or perhaps they can 鈥� some with help from technology.
In February, the B.C. Coroners Service called on the province to investigate the use of automated cameras and other devices to catch speeders and help reduce deaths among young drivers.
The chairman insisted that the panel was not recommending a return to photo radar, which was introduced by the NDP amid controversy in the 1990s, then scrapped six years later by the B.C. Liberals.
Rather, he suggested using 鈥渢ime-and-distance鈥� cameras that take a picture of a vehicle entering an enforcement area and again as it leaves. The average speed between the two points is calculated to determine whether the vehicle was speeding.
Despite the B.C. Liberals鈥� stubborn aversion to photo radar, it appears to be an effective tool. Traffic fatalities were reduced during the time it was used in B.C.
A U.S. study concluded that the use of speed cameras in Montgomery County, Maryland, has saved 400 to 500 lives since 2007, and estimates the nationwide use of the devices would prevent 21,000 deaths or serious injuries each year.
We shouldn鈥檛 turn up our noses at technological solutions, but regardless of how it鈥檚 done, consistently cracking down on speeding saves lives and reduces the severity of injuries.
