There was a time I would have agreed that speed cameras were simply a cash grab by governments desperate to make a buck (or a lot of bucks) off the unsuspecting. For many, myself included, my brain twisted a way that told me the only fair way for me to be caught speeding was to have a cop sitting there with a radar gun waiting to catch me. It was a twist on the tree falling in the woods conundrum: if a cop doesn’t see me, was I really speeding?
This is such a ridiculous take I now feel embarrassed. What changed my mind? Do I think governments are suddenly not cash grabbing entities, that they are now somehow pure, unbiased, uncorrupt, and led by the greatest thinkers of our time? Hardly. Every level of government is still the same old mix of those trying their best, those who have thrown their hands up in cynicism, and those lining their pockets.
Successive governments that champion the car-as-king have made our roads deadly, especially in areas like the GTA, for anyone not wearing the armour of a two tonne urban assault vehicle.
The Netherlands addressed the problem of children getting mowed down by cars way back in the 1970s, introducing a sea change in how they designed roadways and how drivers were required to behave. It was called Stop the Child Murder. Direct, and it worked. In 1997, Sweden enacted Vision Zero, which is how many pedestrians they thought should die on their streets. Zero. They soon achieved one of the lowest pedestrian mortality rates in the world. Cities around the world cottoned on to the idea, and Vision Zero programs were popping up everywhere to differing levels of success.
Toronto initially adopted Vision Zero in 2016 to much fanfare and little success. Like most major American and Canadian cities that adopted Vision Zero programs, things got better, not worse. 2020 was the only year anywhere saw fewer pedestrians and cyclists tangling with vehicles on inner-city roadways, and that took a pandemic, not a civic program. Toronto re-upped in 2019, adding a “2.0” to the moniker. They dumped speed limits in more places — and started putting in speed cameras.
If a car hits you and it’s going 50 km/h, you will probably die, especially if you’re a little fragile (seniors are hit at higher rates) or a child (school zones are protected by signs and paint). Drop that speed to 30 km/h, and you’re far more likely to survive. Of course, the idea is that drivers need to stop hitting people at any speed. That pedestrian, that cyclist, that motorized wheelchair user has as much right to that space as you do. It takes a brutally unkind society to place the rights of a driver over all others.
Toronto has nursed drivers down to 40 km/h in many areas because going immediately to 30 would make them feel like they’re standing still. Without enforcement, neither speed is going to take, because drivers are, for the most part, entitled to their entitlements. While Toronto experienced little success with its first kick at the can, this year is going better.
This passage from Spacing Toronto in 2019 is spot-on: “While Vision Zero plans do recognize the need for a systemic approach to road safety, the actions they propose often attempt to shape cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers into safe users of streetscapes that are inherently unsafe by the very nature of their physical design.” We’re blaming the victims. In December last year, an 11-year-old boy in Hamilton was killed by a driver of a pickup that ran a red light. “Police said he was walking through the intersection with the assistance of a crossing guard when the crash occurred.” How the hell can we keep mowing down children who are doing nothing wrong?
If cameras are enough to slow down the majority, we’ll have to take it as a win
The largest focus on the road calming that Vision Zero seeks is predominantly speeding, which is crucial. But the elephant in the room — literally — is a more recent and growing problem. We are driving monstrously big vehicles that are killing machines. Over 75 per cent of vehicles purchased now are in the SUV/CUV and light truck category with more and more blindspots. Sure, the occupants have never been safer. But it’s not just about people inside these steel chariots, it’s about everybody around them. It’s like we’re flipping the bird to the environment as well as the vulnerable on our roads.
Something the Netherlands and Sweden couldn’t factor into their programs all those years ago is compounding the problem. The vehicles are getting bigger and bigger, and drivers are getting more and more distracted, especially by complicated “infotainment” systems. It doesn’t matter what the speed limit is if a driver doesn’t have their eyes and attention on the road — 100 per cent of the time.
This brings us back to speed cameras.Toronto has 50 cameras that issued 80,000 tickets in the first three months of 2021. Brampton is up to 32, Hamilton has two at last check, as does Mississauga. All are moved around in community safety zones. All locations are posted on news sites. Basically, if you’re entering a community safety or school zone, the decreased speed limits are clearly marked. If you continue to sail through, you deserve the ticket — and some of you are dumb enough to repeatedly find tickets in your mailbox — like 15 timesin one month.
This is not about money, though the money is gratefully accepted by pandemic-depleted municipal coffers. If you get 15 tickets in one month, that tells me you are simply paying a charge to drive as fast as you like. That will not solve the problems on our streets, but if cameras are enough to slow down the majority, we’ll have to take it as a win. If you have Waze or a similar app on your phone, speed cameras and red light cameras send out alerts to notify you. I used to think that was a bad thing — squealing. Now I think it’s great. Cops up ahead? Prepare for something to have happened. Red light camera two blocks away? Great, slow down instead of mashing the throttle. Speed cameras? Probably kids around. Whatever it takes to make people cognizant of their surroundings, I’ll take it.
Including the cash grab cameras.
Ontario needs more speed cameras - Driving
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment