EPS issues 30 tickets at street racing meetup, cites 25 traffic deaths this year for crackdown

Dozens of drivers were ticketed at a street racing meetup in Edmonton earlier this week.

Amid what the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says are traffic deaths set to surpass those of the last two years, a street racing event in northwest Edmonton last Sunday ended in 30 tickets and one executed warrant.

Last Sunday, the area of 129 Avenue and 170 Street was host to what police learned was a meetup of more than 100 vehicles, a news release Friday said.

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Officers set up check stops, looked at every car and ticketed drivers “as applicable,” the release said.

The tickets were largely for equipment violations and stunting. One stop led to an executed warrant, but police have not given further details.

Const. Peter LaFleur with EPS said they’re targeting extreme speeding, racing and stunting, which have become “an ongoing problem.”

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for street racing,” he said in the release.

As of Tuesday, EPS confirmed the city has seen 25 fatal collisions and 90 serious collision-related injuries so far.

Last year saw 26 traffic deaths in Edmonton.

Officers said speed has been a factor in nearly half of all traffic deaths this year.