‘Unacceptable’ number of speeders caught during police project
Hamilton police say they laid more than 800 charges during a two-week project that targeted speeders across the city.
Project Recalibrate, which ran from May 4 to May 17, was launched by police in response to a worrying trend on city roads amid COVID-19 — a spike in speeding and stunt driving.
With roads emptier because of the state of emergency declared in Ontario March 17, Hamilton police reported a 23 per cent spike in stunt driving charges as of the end of April.
The majority of the stunt driving charges are for speeding 50 km/h above the speed limit.
During the two-week project, police laid:
> 637 speeding charges; > 24 stunt driving charges; > One impaired driving charge; > 143 charges for other traffic offences, including driving while suspended, driving without a validation tag and not having ownership or insurance slips.
In Ontario, stunt driving is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act, which includes racing, doing stunts and speeding 50 km/h above the speed limit. Penalties include an automatic roadside driver’s licence suspension and the vehicle is impounded for seven days. If convicted, fines range from $2,000 to $10,000, or imprisonment for up to six months.
Hamilton police Supt. Marty Schulenberg called the number of people caught speeding “unacceptable.”
When the project launched, Const. Stan Larkin, Hamilton police traffic safety co-ordinator, told The Spectator police have caught extreme speeders everywhere, on roads with speed limits ranging from 40 to 90 km/h.
The average speed people were caught going had risen to an alarming 35 km/h over the limit, he said.
“When someone is exceeding the speed limit, it takes them that much longer to stop, and when they hit something, it’s more unpredictable,” Larkin said of the dangers of speeding.
“When someone is exceeding the speed limit, it takes them that much longer to stop, and when they hit something, it’s more unpredictable.” CONST. STAN LARKIN
HAMILTON POLICE TRAFFIC SAFETY CO-ORDINATOR