Danger lurks on our roads
Speed kills. That much we know. We also know the vast majority of vehicle collisions are caused by excessive speed. We know the personal, financial, social and environmental toll of these collisions is tragic and monumental.
Therefore, does it not follow that we should do whatever we can to slow vehicles down, and prevent more bloodshed, heartache and financial difficulty?
Surely that is enough justification for Hamilton’s failed attempt to reintroduce photo radar on local highways. Perhaps now that the city is considering a partnership with Toronto and Ottawa, the project — even if it’s only temporary — will gain some traction and reveal some more lessons.
A study has linked a high number of serious and fatal collisions to speeding on the Red Hill Valley Parkway and the Lincoln Alexander Parkway, but Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca denied Hamilton’s request earlier this spring.
The idea is to measure the “pros and cons,” though it’s hard to imagine too many cons, other than the political fallout with which we are all familiar.
After all, the Ontario government introduced photo radar to the province’s highways in the 1990s, but it was labelled a cash-grab by motorists, and the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris cancelled it to hearty cheers.
But with policing resources stretched ever thinner, and police budgets under increasing pressure, the current system is not only ineffective but economically unsound in an automated world.
Meanwhile, the effectiveness of photo radar in reducing speeds and, therefore, collisions involving injuries, is well documented around the world where it has been in use.
As it stands, all motorists are painfully aware not only that most speeding in Hamilton and beyond goes largely unmonitored and unpunished, but as traffic thickens, thoughtless, reckless, dangerous and offensive driving is becoming a growing plague.
The City of Hamilton is already spending an extra $800,000 on safety upgrades such as bigger signs and better highway markings, and Hamilton police have committed more resources to enforcement. That’s commendable, especially after a safety study suggested many motorists speed 30 km/h or more above the posted limit.
But surely there is a better way to accomplish all this, and at a reduced cost to the general taxpayer.
If Ottawa and Toronto join the Hamilton effort for a photo radar pilot project in cities, we could be well on our way to reducing costs and saving lives across the province. If accusations — or realities, for that matter — of a provincial government cash grab rears its head again, then so be it.