Alberta: Province aims to curb speeding drivers

Province aims to curb speeding drivers
Two-day enforcement blitz and April awareness campaign remind drivers to slow down and stay alive

‘What will it take to slow us down?’ is the question posed by a new campaign to encourage Albertans to avoid speeding.
The awareness and enforcement campaign is being launched by law enforcement agencies throughout the province, in partnership with Alberta Transportation. The province’s comprehensive approach of community mobilization, enforcement and education aims to curb the prevalent ‘culture of speed.’
Movies, TV shows, video games and car commercials often glamorize speeding. The truth, as witnessed by any emergency worker at the site of a car crash, is there’s nothing glamorous about being injured, maimed or killed by a speeding vehicle.
On April 7 and 8, law enforcement officials throughout Alberta will be cracking down on speeders and reinforcing the message to slow down. Since one out of four fatal crashes involves speeding, it is crucial that Albertans understand the often tragic consequences of such behaviour.
As speed increases, motorists are less able to react to other road users’ actions or detect hazards; stopping distances increase; vehicles become more difficult to maneuver; and the severity of crash outcomes increases.
Even small increases in speed above the posted speed limit can mean the difference between life and death, especially for pedestrians. For example: At 40 km/h, the probability of pedestrian death is approximately 20 per cent; at 60 km/h, the same probability goes up to 80 per cent.
Speed is the traffic safety focus for the month of April.
For more information, contact the Office of Traffic Safety at 780-422-8839 or your Regional Traffic Safety Coordinator. To find your local coordinator, visit the Saferoads website at www.saferoads.com and click on Contact Us, then the Regional Traffic Safety Coordinators link on the left-hand side.

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