Quiet highways bring out speeders during pandemic, officer says

May long weekend traffic volumes — curbed by COVID-19 — might have given Albertans a heavier lead foot, says an RCMP officer.

Though Alberta highway travel was down by close to 40 per cent May 15-18 compared to previous Victoria Day weekends, there were three traffic fatalities on those roads — the same number as last year.

And RCMP handed out more than 1,700 speeding tickets this past long weekend, which is about 20 per cent less than the 2,075 issued May 17-20, 2019.

“The traffic volume wasn’t the typical May long weekend volume, which is typically the busiest time for traffic,” said Staff Sgt. Damon Poole of the Alberta RCMP traffic section.

“But (infraction numbers) are still high for sure. People still aren’t getting it.”

If anything, said Poole, many motorists seem emboldened when there are fewer vehicles on the road.

“Speeds can certainly increase with less volume; when traffic volumes are thin, people can put their feet into it,” he said.

During this year’s long weekend, there were 19 injury collisions while last year, there were 27 injuries recorded.

Of the speeding tickets, 770 were handed out to motorists on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway connecting Calgary and Edmonton, as were 21 of the 50 distracted driving violations issued.

Mounties also laid 35 alcoholand drug-related charges throughout the province during the long weekend, said Poole.

“That’s 35 too many,” said Poole. “We’re striving for zero fatalities and we know speeding and impaired driving are factors.”

During traffic safety week that ran from May 12-18, Alberta RCMP say they focused their enforcement on distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding.

The pandemic has also forced changes to Mounties’ traffic enforcement routine, with rubber gloves and protective masks now worn and drivers’ licences sanitized when handled, he said.

“We do limit our time at vehicle windows,” added Poole.

“Certainly, it’s different for us during the pandemic.”