Ontario set to introduce photo radar legislation for roads
Kathleen Wynne has set her sights on curbing unsafe driving practices.
The Ontario Premier announced today that she will be introducing new speeding legislation for municipalities that will specifically target community school zones and safety zones if passed.
“We have seen too many injuries and deaths caused by drivers who speed and endanger people’s lives,” said Wynne in a press release from Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation. “Our intent is to give municipalities more tools to keep people safe on roads.”
These are the three main pillars of her proposal, as per the release:
- Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) technology on municipal roads, which takes pictures of speeders’ license plates and is already used in many parts of North America and Europe, and for community safety zones and school zones
- The ability to create zones with reduced speed limits to decrease the severity of pedestrian-vehicle collisions in urban areas
- A streamlined process for municipalities to participate in Ontario’s Red Light Camera program without the need for lengthy regulatory approval
MTO also asserts that “14 per cent of all people killed on [Ontario’s] roads in 2013 died in collisions where speed was a factor.” By targeting such vulnerable areas for children, seniors, and cyclists, this legislation should presumably lower that number.
While it’s hard to fault the intentions of what Wynne is calling for, some have publicly questioned the use of photo radar technology it would involve. An opinion piece from March in the Ottawa Citizen decries the revenue that is generated from punishing based on unreasonable speed standards and the interests of certain controlling groups.
If implemented, this would be the second major piece of road safety legislation to be established in the province’s recent past, following October’s stricter regulations on drug-impaired driving.