With the winter weather finally in the rearview mirror, enforcement services officers around Grande Prairie will be keeping a closer eye on drivers obeying the speed limit. The Selected Traffic Enforcement Program for April will be focusing on posted limits throughout the city.
“When people push the limits that’s when things go wrong,” says Sergeant Charlene Gallant. “You know the rules and regulations are there for a reason and if you stay within the rules of the road that can greatly reduce the accidents and injury that we see on the roads today.”
According to the City of Grande Prairie, nearly one in four fatal collisions involve one or more drivers travelling at a speed too great for the conditions of the road. Gallant believes that the majority of those who choose to speed are doing so based on a poor ability to plan for a trip.
“Whether it’s the need to get someplace without preplanning and the time delays that it takes; I think it’s just bad planning to get to a place at a certain time.”
Gallant adds that despite drivers trying to push their luck by travelling 40 kilometres an hour in a 30-kilometre zone, those limits are put in place to protect everyone, and they’re not an inconvenience to their day.
“Those signs are looked at very closely to ensure the safety of the kids, pedestrians and other travellers on the road. It’s certainly something people think, ‘if it says 30, let’s try to go a little quicker.’ At the end of the day, it’s not a good move.”
Speeding fines in Alberta range from $78 to $474 and come with up to six demerit points.