With the warm weather here and the snow gone, Grande Prairie RCMP and Enforcement Services have responded to an increasing number of speed incidents in the city.
Sergeant Ross Gear says enforcement officers have seen some pretty significant speeds out there.
“There’s no doubt that speeds have increased. I wouldn’t call it an epidemic or anything like that but when the warm weather hits, speeds tend to get a little higher. We’ve seen it both in the city and throughout the rural service areas,” he explains.
“Our officers are out there doing their best to bring speeds down. There is a big correlation between these higher speeds and collisions over the long haul. We just want to keep citizens of Grande Prairie safe.”
This includes several different incidents of speeds around 134 to 140 kilometres per hour and even 150 kilometres per hour in 60-kilometre zones.
“We’ve noticed that people are travelling 30, 40, and even 50 kilometres over the speed limit in some areas. That’s always a concern for us. Things will level out over time I hope. It seems to be a bit of a phenomenon each spring and people tend to have a little heavier foot,” he says.
Gear has noticed that the major arteries of the city have seen more incidents than others this spring.
“The areas with normally heavier traffic are not as busy as they were. As traffic gets a little lighter, early in the morning or later in the evening, we have seen drivers travelling at higher speeds,” says Gear. “You’re looking at the bypass, 116th Street, 132nd Street, and some of the roads in the rural service area.”
Enforcement Services and Grande Prairie RCMP are working together to limit speeding incidents as much as possible.
“It’s going well. We have a very good partnership with them. They have a lot on their plate and we support them however we can. Safety is everybody’s concern, not just ours.”
Excessive speeding is an arrestable offence and will also result in the impounding of a vehicle. Anything more than 50 kilometres over a posted speed limit means an automatic court date.