At the beginning of April, the Alberta government implemented its plan to reduce the number of photo radar sites across the province by 70% after repeatedly calling them a “cash grab.” The decision was met with mixed reviews from both municipalities and law enforcement agencies, with each emphasizing the role of speed cameras as an important traffic safety tool.
And it appears they may have been correct. The Edmonton Journal recently reported that as of July 31, the Edmonton Police Service had recorded 21 fatal vehicle collisions. In a recent case, speed is believed to have been a factor in a collision that claimed the life of a 25-year-old man. Of the crashes investigated in Edmonton in 2025, 50% of those that were fatal and 16% of serious injury crashes had speed identified as a factor.
In comparison, in 2024 there were a total of 24 fatal collisions in Edmonton for the entire year.
In response to what is seemingly a very dangerous trend, the Alberta Government has announced a province-wide campaign aimed at deterring speeding and reckless driving, which is scheduled to begin at the end of August.
In late May, Alberta launched a $13 million traffic safety fund to support municipal road safety measures such as digital speed signs, intersection upgrades, improved lighting, and pedestrian safety enhancements. While no municipalities have yet applied for funding, the province has received consistent feedback from police about the need for safer road design.
Under the guidelines, municipalities may request approval for automated enforcement sites at locations with a significant crash history, however, other uses are generally prohibited. The City of Edmonton is currently working with the province to clarify site requirements and access the traffic safety fund, specifically to help fund permanent safety improvements like speed bumps and enhanced pedestrian crossings in school and playground zones.
Calgary’s issues with stopping
While Edmonton struggles with lead-footed drivers, Calgarians have no reason to gloat. Residents of the city have increasingly taken to social media over the last year to complain about a rise in drivers running red lights, and it turns out statistics from the Calgary Police Service are proving them right.
From 2018 to 2021, the number of red-light tickets issued in Calgary remained relatively stable, with the exception of a decline during the height of the pandemic when traffic volumes dropped significantly. In 2022, however, ticket numbers surged by more than 40%.
Before the pandemic, police issued an average of just over 1,500 red-light tickets per month. By 2022, that figure had climbed to more than 2,200 per month and has remained elevated since. Data from the first five months of 2025 shows an average of 1,928 tickets per month, but with the year still unfinished, it is too early to determine if this represents a sustained downward trend.
As of May, the City of Calgary has 52 red-light cameras monitoring intersections. Statistics from the City say that between 2000 — the year before any cameras were installed — and 2023, the number of collisions has gone down by 33%, with fatal collisions reduced 75% and injury rates down 56%, which speaks to the effectiveness of the program.
While collisions are down, infractions have gone up, which the Calgary Police Service partly attributes partly to the city’s booming population growth.
Speed does (literally) kill
According to Yahoo News Canada, speed plays a significant part in the seriousness of accidents in Alberta. In 2021, speeding was a factor in 26.4% of fatal collisions and 7.6% of injury collisions, resulting in 68 fatalities and 1,251 injuries.
When travelling at high speeds, reflexes simply aren’t fast enough to be able to react in time. The average time it takes for a driver to react to a sudden, unexpected situation is 1.5 seconds, which is not likely to be quick enough.
It also takes longer to slow a car down when it’s going really fast, and vehicles need to travel much further before they stop completely. In addition, studies show that speeding doesn’t significantly increase your chance of getting somewhere faster, and it is bad for fuel consumption.
Speed also increases the chance of an injury, and even death. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that an increase in average speed of only 1 km/h results in a 3% higher risk of an injury after a crash. The WHO also calculates that for those in a crash at 80 km/h the likelihood of death is 20 times higher than if you were going 30 km/h.
Remember that not only are speeding and failing to stop at red lights very dangerous, they can also result in serious moving violations that could result in a costly traffic ticket and demerits on your licence. Demerits will more than likely result in higher auto insurance premiums, making these sorts of actions not worth the risk.
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