Speed – What You Don’t Know – Will Cost You!
Notes from the Desk of Cst.Jeff Leimer, Residential Traffic Safety Unit (RTSU)
“April is Speed Awareness and Enforcement month. Fines start at 1km/h over the speed limit at $81 and go up to 50km/h at $495. Demerit points are assessed to speed fines starting at two demerits and increase as speed increases.”
Speed fines double if one is charged for speeding in a construction zone or passing emergency vehicles or tow trucks. If speeds are in excess of 50km/h over the speed limit the ticket will be for mandatory court appearance in which the courts will set the fine and license suspension timeline.
Important: As of March 1, 2023, there was a change to the Traffic Safety Act (TSA), being that all lanes of travel must slow to 60km/h when passing Emergency vehicles when traveling in the same direction. This is a change from the past where only the lane adjacent or one lane beside the emergency vehicle had to slow.
Understanding The Stopping Distance
In relation to speed, the distance your vehicle travels increases considerably in relation to reaction time and braking distance if an emergency arises. These stats are for ideal road conditions. Wet, snow, distractions, and driver inexperience, etc. will extend them considerably.
Average vehicle in good repair driving on dry and good repair roads at 50km/h:
• Average perception and reaction time is 1.5 seconds (brain to see danger and then reaction time to step on brakes) this can vary depending on driving experience.
• Vehicle travels approximately 18m/sec at 50km/h.
• Vehicle from start of braking to complete stop approximately 25m.
• So, it will be approximately 60m travel distance – half a football field.
At 100 km/h you can quadruple distance to approximately 200m (two football fields) to stop!
On Another Note: Speaking of Speeds, Speeding, and Speeders
The Calgary Police care about your concerns. While citizens are responsible to adhere to the laws, there are some who don’t take those laws seriously. Thus, the Residential Traffic Safety Unit (RTSU), which is attached to the Traffic Section of the Calgary Police Service was created. This Unit has four sworn Calgary Police Officers and four Photo Radar Operators that work during the day, Monday to Friday. It was created specifically to address residential traffic issues. The strategy is to utilize citizen feedback to develop an operational response, with a focus on playground zones, pedestrian rich areas, and other high-risk locations identified through collision data analysis. With certain traffic concerns, the RTSU may utilize its collaborative relationships with City partners to bring about resolutions other than enforcement such as sign changes, installation of crosswalks, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, extension of playground zones, etc.
A Valuable Tool – Traffic Service Requests (TSR)
The TSR is a key tool to help the Calgary Police Service monitor and track traffic safety issues. This tracking can be used to direct members of the Police Districts and Traffic Response Unit (TRU) teams when best to conduct enforcement and/or for the City to see if additional/changes of signage, roadway engineering, or traffic calming measures is needed.
At the beginning of each week the Residential Traffic Safety Unit will focus on a different quadrant of the city. After reviewing all the Traffic Service Requests (TSR)s that have been submitted, those residential areas with a noticeable number of complaints, (usually playground zones), are targeted for further evaluation and enforcement. The ones that appear to be on the major roadways and outside the Monday to Friday schedule are passed onto the District Offices and the TRU teams. The Residential Traffic Safety Unit also conducts a weekly School Blitz at locations that have considerable issues with parking, jaywalking, and unsafe driving habits. Often TSRs are received from the schools either by staff or parents. These blitzes include cooperation with the Calgary Parking Authority (CPA).
Anyone who has a traffic related concern or complaint can fill out a Traffic Service Requests (TSR) at https://www.calgary.ca/cps/traffic/traffic-service-requests.html.
Make sure you provide your contact information so that officers can reach out for further details. Each TSR is provided with a unique number for tracking. The officer will include dates and times in which they will contact the complainant, enforcement duration, and stats. Together we are keeping Kingsland safe!
