For What It’s Worth: Driving in Alberta

By Cash Moore on March 17, 2022.

Last December, the provincial government announced changes to photo radar enforcement. The government says these changes will ensure municipalities use photo radar for safety rather than as a source of revenue. These changes include restricting the use of photo radar in transition zones (an area where the speed limit changes), clearly marking roadside vehicles and requiring municipalities to provide justification for its use.

These long overdue changes, which come into effect next month, are steps in the right direction. However, the problem is photo radar shows little evidence of improving safety. In 2017, the NDP commissioned an independent study which showed photo radar in this province only contributed to a 1.4% reduction in collisions.

Photo radar has existed in Alberta since 1987. For the first 20 years or so of its existence there was an unwritten rule it would only target the most aggressive speeders; those driving 15 km/h and above over the speed limit.

While Medicine Hat no longer tickets in the 6-11 over range, data provided by the City of Edmonton shows that nearly 800 drivers in that city were ticketed for going 6-10 km/h over the speed limit in 2021.

If photo radar is truly about safety, what danger is there driving 58 down an empty 13th Avenue on a Sunday morning, or going 60 up Parkview Drive when the flow of traffic dictates it?

Photo radar, the way it’s currently used, expects drivers to spend more time looking at their speedometers than on the road and keeping with the flow of traffic.

Adding to the arbitrary nature of our province’s traffic enforcement, is the government’s plan to implement Phase 2 of the Safe Roads Alberta Plan. This plan is set to remove an accused traffic offender’s right to appear before a justice. Instead, those who wish to challenge a ticket have to pay a non-refundable fee up to $150 in order to meet with an online adjudicator.

The government’s reasoning behind this plan is our courts are backed up with traffic hearings, leading to serious criminals getting back on the streets. If the government doesn’t recognize minor traffic infractions like photo radar as “serious,” or worthy of the court’s time, then perhaps they shouldn’t be charging serious fines.

This plan was put on pause after it received widespread backlash in January. However, in a joint statement from ministers Sawhney and Savage, they said they will revisit the plan in 90-120 days and use this time to “educate” Albertans about the “benefits” of it. In reality, the government is hoping Albertans will simply forget about this arbitrary plan and it will stay out of the headlines when reintroduced.

Driving in Alberta is a necessity of life for the majority of Albertans. It’s how we get to work and school, get groceries or meet up with friends and family. Photo radar disproportionately affects vulnerable members of our society. For those already living paycheque to paycheque, a $120 fine for going 11 over has serious consequences. In a time where the cost of living is soaring, photo radar shouldn’t be used as a way to punish hard working people going about their day. Ticket the most egregious speeders and leave it at that.

Cash Moore is a political science student at the University of Alberta from Medicine Hat

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