A review of road safety with respect to speed and intersections was undertaken by a sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Road Safety Research and Policies. This review was undertaken at the request of a number of provincial police agencies, road safety stakeholders and as a result of public advocacy. The subcommittee was to determine the magnitude of collisions related to speed and intersections as well as to identify strategies currently in place to address these issues. In 1998 and 1999 a cross Canada survey was conducted to determine enforcement activity, collision information and related existing legislation. The results of the survey follow: 1. All provinces have a variety of fines and demerits, typically determined by the degree exceeding the speed limit 2. Some provinces implemented additional victims’ surcharges such as additional fines for speeding in school, work or playground zones 3. Conviction information indicated that speeding represents a large proportion of moving violations. Caution is advised in interpreting these results, in that violation tickets represent an output measure which for speeding, because of the use of technology, is of considerably higher volume per unit of time than other moving violation strategies. In addition the quantifiable nature of speed enforcement and the assistance of technology in the verification of infractions is frequently used as the basis for traffic stops. 4. Speed is undeniably the major contributing factor to crash severity 5. All jurisdictions have established programs to address speed, primarily through police agencies. In 1999, as a result of this survey, the CCMTA Standing Committee on Road Safety Research and Policies established the Task Force on Speed and Intersection Safety Management. The review undertaken by the Task Force has resulted in the creation of the Strategy for Speed and Intersection Safety Management (SISM). (Author/publisher)
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