City doesn’t have enough collision and injury data to justify expanding photo radar – Winnipeg Free Press

Opinion

Before the provincial government allows the city of Winnipeg to deploy photo radar anywhere it wants, it should ask the question: does this really reduce the number of collisions and injuries?

The answer to that question is that no one knows, because the city refuses to collect collision data using photo radar.

There are some statistics for intersection safety cameras (or “red light cameras” as they have become known), but these are incomplete. The data shows that the total number of collisions at the twelve original intersection camera locations has decreased compared to the start of the program in 2003.

Adjusting for the increase in the number of vehicles on the road since then, total collisions at those locations are down 23 per cent, according to the Winnipeg Police Service’s 2023 Photo Enforcement Annual Report. There are no comparative data for the other 37 intersection camera locations.

The data also shows that the number of right-angle collisions in 2022 and 2023 (adjusted for vehicle growth) at the twelve original locations was higher than in 2003 and 2004. Does it work? Do intersection cameras reduce collisions and injuries? It depends on what metrics the police choose.

However, there is no crash data whatsoever for mobile photo radar units. There is no mechanism to determine whether that program is achieving its stated goal of reducing collisions and injuries.

For the record, this is what the photo radar annual report says: “The goal of the Photo Enforcement Program is to reduce the number of speed-related fatalities, collisions and injuries.”

So how does the city know if photo radar is achieving that goal? That is not the case.

It could collect that data if it wanted to. The accident data exists where photo radar is used, but the police and city choose not to collect it. The question is: why?

If photo radar were indeed about improving road safety, it would be deployed primarily in high-collision areas, data would be collected over time to determine whether crashes and injuries would decrease in those locations, and those statistics would be published every year in the United States. the annual report of photo enforcement. But they aren’t.

The reality is that photo radar, or at least the way it is used in Winnipeg, has little or nothing to do with road safety and everything to do with generating revenue for the city. It’s a money maker, pure and simple.

That’s why mobile photo radar vehicles are often parked in locations that are proven to make money, and not necessarily in high accident areas.

The city is once again calling on the provincial government to amend the Road Traffic Act to allow the use of photo radar on every street or roadway. She has submitted this request in the past and was denied.

Currently, photo radar may only be used in school, playground and construction zones according to the law. Police have been asking for years to be allowed to use it anywhere they want. They claim it should improve road safety, but they refuse to collect the data needed to show whether this actually reduces collisions and injuries.

Before the province decides whether to grant the city’s request to expand photo radar, it must first require City Hall to conduct a thorough investigation of the photo radar to determine whether it is achieving its stated purpose. It must prove that the program is not just about the money.

That report should include an analysis of whether police are relying more on photo radar and less on traditional traffic enforcement than in the past.

Police have said in the past that they have cut back on traditional traffic enforcement in favor of photo radar. That is a problem, because the photo radar is not aimed at drivers, but at vehicle owners. Drivers will not receive penalty points if they receive a photo enforcement fine. They do this when they receive a ticket or other fine from a police officer.

That means drivers can collect as many photo radar tickets as they want and still keep their driver’s license. This is not the case with traditional enforcement; if you get enough speeding tickets or other traffic violations, written and handed over by the police, you will eventually lose your driver’s license.

Photo radar also cannot check for other violations the way traditional enforcement can. It can only determine whether a vehicle is speeding.

These issues must be resolved between the county and the city before photo radar expansion is allowed.

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Tom Brodbeck
Columnist

Tom Brodbeck is a columnist at the Free press and has more than 30 years of experience in print media. He joined the Free press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom.

Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. His columns are based on research and reporting on local events. The Free pressTom’s editorial team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing trustworthy independent journalism. Read more about Free press‘s history and mandateAnd Discover how our newsroom works.

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