22 speeding tickets issued on Stoney Trail per day in January: data

The Calgary Police Service says 677 speeding tickets were issued to drivers on Stoney Trail during the month of January - approximately 22 per day. (Facebook/CPS)

The Calgary Police Commission has heard more about traffic safety concerns in the city, learning about hundreds of traffic tickets handed out to drivers on Stoney Trail and a disturbing incident involving a teen driver.

During the Wednesday meeting with the Calgary Police Service, the board heard that 677 speeding tickets were issued in January to drivers on Stoney Trail and 149 to Deerfoot Trail drivers.

That’s close to about 22 per day on Stoney and five per day on Deerfoot.

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“The vast majority of those would have been officers stopping individuals and issuing them summonses,” said Calgary Police Service (CPS) Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien.

He said it’s also a troubling situation when a driver is caught driving at an excessive speed – more than 50 km/h above the posted speed limit.

“Those vehicles would not have been seized unless there was some other reason to seize them. Speeding in Alberta is not a reason; the legislation does not allow us to seize them,” he said.

“I know there has been conversations with the (Government of Alberta) about doing that or some other sanctions like a licence suspension or vehicle seizure for a period of time, which other provinces have.”

O’Brien said for now, offending drivers are only instructed to appear in court before a judge.

Calgary’s police chief said traffic safety is a big concern across the city, has gotten worse since the beginning of the year.

“Our community and our members are facing escalating dangers on our roadways,” said CPS Chief Katie McLellan.

“Every night, officers are engaging in vehicle-based tactics to stop unsafe and dangerous drivers who show little regard for public safety. We are deploying tire deflation devices more frequently than ever, which speaks to both the effectiveness of our tactics and the level of recklessness we continue to see.”

CPS Deputy Chief Cory Dayley recalled one of those dangerous situations at the commission meeting, which involved a reckless Ford F-350 driver earlier this month.

“That driver attempted to evade police for some time, driving the wrong way on Stoney Trail and through construction zones at a high rate of speed,” he said.

Dayley said officers were “forced to take evasive action” to stop the driver, but the operation took five police vehicles out of commission.

The cost of damages was well over $100,000, he said.

“It’s incidents like this that show how one dynamic event can ripple across the entire organization and the importance of staff and equipment to absorb those types of incidents,” Dayley said.

O’Brien said the 15-year-old behind the wheel was recorded driving 178 km/h during the incident.

McLellan said these reckless drivers create significant risk to officers and the public.

Over the past month, Calgary has seen several traffic fatalities, including the death of a toddler on Feb. 15.

“These events are devastating. They leave families shattered, communities grieving and first responders carrying the weight of what they have witnessed,” the chief said.

Calgary police have a strategy in place that has a goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities.

“We are all trying to play our part and we need the public to play theirs,” McLellan said.