Nearly 500 drivers will soon get a photo radar ticket in the mail for speeding during Wednesday’s slippery, snowy commute.
On Edmonton streets Wednesday, automated enforcement caught 474 speeding drivers, and that number does not include speed-on-green and red light cameras, according to the city’s Traffic Safety section.
Nearly 60 drivers were clocked going more than 20 km/h over the posted speed limit.
READ MORE: Overnight snow, freezing temperatures lead to slippery Edmonton commute Wednesday
City traffic officials released the information as a way of urging drivers to slow down during winter weather conditions. The number of violations breaks down as follows:
- Drivers going 5 km/h -9 km/h over speed limit: 0
- Drivers going 10 km/h -14 km/h over the speed limit: 224
- Drivers going 15 km/h – 19 km/h over the speed limit: 192
- Drivers going more than 20 km/h over the speed limit : 58
Yellowhead Trail, Whitemud Drive and Mill Woods Road East were the top three locations where the speeding violations took place, according to the Traffic Safety section.
READ MORE: Man and woman fighting for their lives after crash on Anthony Henday Wednesday
While the number of radar tickets racked up in Edmonton Wednesday is lower than the 1,700 violations caught on a typical day, the city said this data is very concerning.
“Not only are they endangering themselves, they are putting the careful and law-abiding drivers at risk,” said Gary Dyck, a spokesperson with the city’s Traffic Safety section.
“We are not talking about bent fenders; we are talking about people hospitalized or killed. These could be your family members, your friends or yourself.”
Edmonton police were called to 275 collisions on city streets on Wednesday. Of those, 215 were property damage collisions, 42 were hit and runs and 18 involved injuries.
Between 6 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Thursday, police responded to 83 collisions:
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- 70 property damage collisions
- 10 hit-and-run collisions
- 3 injury collisions
With a few snowy commutes under their belts so far this fall, Edmontonians are reigniting an annual tradition: complaining that everyone else has forgotten how to drive in the winter weather.
READ MORE: Are winter tires worth it? What Alberta drivers need to know
But a veteran driving instructor said it’s a condition that affects all drivers.
Rick Lang, a manager with AMA Driver Education, described it as “muscle memory loss” for drivers.
“Whenever we do something automatically it gets built into our muscle memory so we really don’t have to put too much conscious thought (into) it,” Lang said. “But as soon as we get into that April/May time frame where winter’s gone and we get into our summer driving attitude, traction is really good, visibility is really good (with) long, long daylight here in northern Alberta, we tend to forget about winter and winter driving.
“Everybody thinks they are a fantastic driver. One of the things I challenge people (with) is this: be as good a driver as you think you are.”
Lang said it’s important for drivers to prepare their cars for winter — that means switching to winter tires and making sure their batteries are ready for the cold morning starts.
He also urged drivers to change their mindsets and make the small corrections that prevent collisions: adjust speed, leave more space between vehicles, and start braking sooner.
READ MORE: Child in critical condition after car, bus collide in northeast Edmonton
“For some people who have experienced many, many winters, it can come back real quick. For people with limited experience behind the wheel, limited experience in winter driving conditions, it can take a little bit longer,” he said.
“Normally by about the third blast of winter in and around northern Alberta, most drivers clue into it and they have adjusted their driving. Others never seem to get clued in that you can’t get (from) Point A to Point B as quick as you can in the summertime.”
Watch below: Anti-icing pilot project expanding on Edmonton streets this winter
The snow is expected to taper off Friday and cold temperatures will settle in for the weekend.
The daytime high on Friday is expected to reach -9 C. Saturday will see a daytime high of -7 C with winds gusting between 10 km/h and 15 km/h.
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