EDMONTON – The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is warning drivers to slow down on city roads after five drivers were charged for excessive speeding during a three-day period, including one driver who was travelling 173 km/h in a 70 km/h zone.
“The car that was travelling at a speed of 173 kilometres per hour was covering 48 metres of road every second. It would have taken a distance greater than two football fields to stop in an emergency, and it would have been total carnage if the car struck other vehicles or pedestrians,” said Sgt. David Green with Specialized Traffic Apprehension Team (STAT).
The speeder was pulled over at around Yellowhead Trail and 121 Street by STAT officers Wednesday night. Police say the Cadillac was travelling erratically at a high rate of speed, repeatedly changing lanes to overtake traffic. The 20-year-old driver was charged with dangerous driving.
On Tuesday morning, a 38-year-old driver was charged with speeding after an unmarked police car recorded a vehicle travelling 162 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Anthony Henday Drive at Whitemud Drive.
On Wednesday morning, police say a Toyota Corolla sped past a marked police vehicle on the Henday in south Edmonton. Officers clocked the Toyota travelling at 155 km/h in the 100 km/h zone. The 24-year-old driver was charged with speeding.
A 47-year-old driver was charged with speeding three hours later after police clocked a vehicle at 60 kilometres over the speed limit on Anthony Henday Drive near Yellowhead Trail.
The latest excessive speeder was caught around 9:20 p.m. Thursday night by officers in a marked police car. STAT officers caught a 30-year-old man driving at a speed of 108 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, in the area of 156 Street and 115 Avenue. The man was charged with speeding.
Sgt. Green says speed was a factor in 30 per cent of the serious injury collisions and 42 per cent of the fatal collisions in Edmonton in 2013.
The EPS says there have been 22 mandatory court tickets issued for excessive speeding this year. There were a total of 369 mandatory court tickets issued last year.
In excessive speed incidents, drivers receive an automatic summons to appear before a judge, who will review each driver’s record to determine the penalty.
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