'Dangerous' speeding leads to police crackdown in Halifax area

Halifax cops handing out lots of speeding tickets After only 3 months, Halifax police have given out nearly half the number of tickets they gave out all of last year. Sarah Plowman reports.

DARTMOUTH, N.S. — The number of speeding tickets being issued in Halifax appears to be growing.

As of March 24, Halifax Regional Police (HRP) had already handed out 796 speeding tickets this year – nearly half the total number of speeding tickets issued during all of 2020.

Friday afternoon, an unmarked police vehicle parked alongside Highway 111 issued another speeding ticket, adding one to a growing list.

"Wednesday and Thursday, our traffic unit alone issued 82 separate tickets in relation to motor vehicle offences. 41 of those were in particular in response to speeding offences," said Const. John MacLeod, spokesperson with Halifax Regional Police.

Halifax Regional Coun. Becky Kent, who is also vice chair of the transportation standing committee, said the numbers could be attributed to the fact that there are more people speeding, or that police are just catching more people. Kent said she hears road safety concerns from people every day.

"The speeding. It’s dangerous. It can kill people. As we have unfortunately have seen. That needs to be raised and we can do that through ticketing," Kent said.

Halifax District RCMP statistics show compared to recent years, the number of speeding tickets handed out by the Mounties in Halifax isn’t higher than usual. From Jan. 1 to March 25, Halifax District RCMP issued 369 speeding tickets, compared to 1929 tickets in 2020 and 3419 tickets in 2019, but police also issued 13 stunting charges.

This week alone, RCMP charged three people for stunting in a 20-hour period. And in 2020, RCMP in Halifax charged nearly 60 people with stunting, a charge could include driving more than 50 km over the speed limit, and means a $2,422.50 fine.

Ahsan Habib, a transportation professor at Dalhousie University, believes drivers are speeding more because COVID-19 has meant fewer cars are on the roads.

He also thinks the disruption COVID-19 presented is a contributing factor.

"Disruption in our lifestyle have impact on how we behave on the road space," said Habib, noting that research into how COVID-19 has impacted driver behaviour is in its early stages, but he points to another example.

"During daylight saving we have seen increased collision because it disrupts your lifestyle," he said.

MacLeod said it’s difficult to say what the different factors involved are, but points out police are continuing to focused on speed enforcement and educating drivers on the rules of the road.

"We are bringing attention to it more," MacLeod said. "We are letting the public know we are looking into their complaints and taking their concerns very seriously."