Peterborough police take zero-tolerance approach to residential speeding

Peterborough police are going to spend the summer handing out a lot of tickets.

The traffic unit’s newest project, “Safe Under 7,” is targeting any driver travelling at more than seven kilometres over the posted speed limit.

Traffic unit Sgt. Peter Sejrup said speeding in residential neighbourhoods is one of the biggest complaints he hears about.

“The community wants this. Their threshold of acceptability has diminished. They’re tired of people speeding on their roads,” he said.

Sejrup said police target speeders all the time; But normally, he said, they tend to nab those travelling at least 15 kilometres over the 50/km level.

But Sejrup said he took a hard look at the numbers and came to one conclusion — speeding is speeding, no matter how fast a driver is going.

“We thought, ‘Why are we waiting for these big fish? We need to take care of everybody,'” Sejrup said.

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Sejrup spent his early Monday afternoon patrolling Peterborough’s south-end neighbourhoods. Within an hour, he had handed out six tickets.

One driver was pegged at 68 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone. But most tickets were for seemingly minor infractions — driving eight or nine kilometres per hour over the posted limit.

“We’ve launched a campaign over the summer where we’ve taken a zero-tolerance approach to anything over 7 kilometres over the limit,” Sejrup said cheerfully, as he handed yet another driver a ticket. This motorist was doing 57 in a 50 zone.

“I’ll give that to you, and you have yourself a safe day.”

Sejrup says when it comes to collisions, speed is almost always a factor. When it comes to neighbourhoods full of pedestrians, cyclists and children, Sejrup says it can be a lethal factor.

“That can be catastrophic when you’re striking a pedestrian, when you’re dealing with a child on a road or a cyclist. Or a car that’s pulling out of a laneway that doesn’t anticipate that you’re exceeding that speed limit.”

“Safe Under 7” will run throughout the summer.