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Overview

• About OTSAbout OTS• Key Facts• Speed Management Committee and Speed Management Plan• Evidence on Speed and Speeding• Complaint Process• Data Collection

• Speed Surveys• Collision Review

• Speed Management Continuum• Key Organizations• Next steps – Automated Enforcement ‐ Research

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City of Edmonton Office of Traffic Safety

Established in 2006 as a result of a Mayor’s Traffic Safety Task Force on Traffic Safety

A joint initiative of Transportation Services and the Edmonton Police Service 

First Municipal Office of Traffic Safety in North America

Ongoing City Council initiative, supported by two city councillors

Hosts an annual International Urban Traffic Safety Conference

Established Urban Traffic Safety Research Chair U of A

Hosts an annual Run Walk Ride for Traffic Safety

Key FactsCanada (2012)

Alberta (2013)141,638 collisions358 deaths18,650 injured

Canada (2012)2,077 deaths (fatalities)165,172 injured

http://www.who.int/entity/roadsafety/decade_of_action/decade_presentation.pptEdmonton (2014)23 deaths3,660 injuries0 Motorcycle fatalities

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Motor Vehicle Registrations by Province -Sask., Alta. , BC

2013

Canada Sask. Alta. B.C.

number

Total vehicle registrations 31,718,809 1,105,901 4,764,093 3,380,245

Total road motor vehicle registrations 23,006,222 880,263 3,306,576 2,952,114

Vehicles weighing less than 4 500 kilograms21,261,660 778,069 2,895,686 2,738,785

Vehicles weighing 4,500 kilograms to 14,999 kilograms550,572 47,659 171,271 102,108

Province Sask., Alta. , BC

Vehicles weighing 15,000 kilograms or more432,684 38,939 107,161 39,521

Buses 88,878 3,950 15,853 9,817

Motorcycles and mopeds 672,428 11,646 116,605 61,883

Trailers 6,686,145 215,853 1,265,912 408,631

Off‐road1, construction, farm vehicles 2,026,442 9,785 191,605 19,500

1. Off road vehicles include snowmobiles, dune buggies and amphibious vehicles.

Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 405‐0004.

Last Modified: 2014‐06‐23.

A staggering 50% of serious brain injuries in Alberta are

Slow Down – it’s a no brainer

A staggering 50% of serious brain injuries in Alberta are due to speed‐related crashes.

“Speeding increases the severity of collisions. It’s unacceptable that half of all serious brain injuries are due to speed‐related collisions. Everyone needs to slow down and drive for the road conditions to reduce this ftragic statistic.”

Wayne Drysdale, Minister of Transportation, Government of Alberta April 2, 2015

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In 2006, Edmonton had the highest rate of Injuries per 1000 population than any Major Canadian City.  

In 2012, the last year where data is available for comparison cities, Edmonton has seen a significant reduction in injuries, yet remains tied with Toronto with the highest # of injuries per 1000 population

Edmonton Police Service 2014 Citizen Survey

http://www.edmontonpolice.ca/~/media/EPS%20External/Files/Reports/2014_EPS_CitizenSurvey_for_web.ashx

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344THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF PERSONS INJURED ON OUR ROADS

EVERY MONTH – THE EQUIVALENT OF ~ 10 FULL ETS BUSLOADS OF PASSENGERS

Top Collision Cause

• Follow too close collisions are typically recorded as the top cause of collisions in Edmonton

• In many of these cases speed is a factor• At 50 km/h a driver needs approx. 35 metres to react and brake in time to avoid a collisionAt 80 k /h 69 t i i d• At 80 km/h 69 metres is required

• Many motorists either tailgate or fail to leave enough space between their vehicle and the one in front 

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Cost of Collisions

The estimated total cost of collisions in the Capital Region is almost $1 billion every year in direct costs and at least that much or more in indirect costs.

*Source: Collision Cost Study

Traffic Safety Culture Survey ResultsFigure 1: How many kilometers ABOVE the posted speed limit do you personally feel it is okay to drive ?

26.9%

48.7%

9.2%

3.0%

25.9%

5.2%

1.0%

0.3%

7.7%

1.4%

0.2%

0.1%

1‐5 KM per hour

6‐10 KM per hour

11‐15 KM per hour

More than 15 KM per hour

you, personally, feel it is okay to drive…?

12.1%67.5%

90.5%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

0 KM per hour

Near a School On a Residential Street On a Freeway

Laura Thue, PhD OTS,  Jana Grekul, PhD University of Alberta

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Speed Management Committee

Speed Management Plan

STRATEGY 1:Develop an effective and efficient speed 

STRATEGY 5: Promote and implement appropriate speed limits in 

Speed Management Plan 2011-2015

management framework and flowchart process to identify, prioritize and process citizen complaints and ‘speeding hotspots’ in support of the ‘Speed Stat’ model.

STRATEGY 3: 

STRATEGY 2:Increase community awareness, knowledge and understanding of the dangers and consequences of exceeding the speed limit.

residential areas and areas of high pedestrian and bicyclist activity.

STRATEGY 6: Enhance the network of fixed intersection safety cameras at suitable locations.

STRATEGY 7:Monitor, research and evaluate developments in road‐based measures to improve speed‐related 

d f tTarget for special programs identified through enforcement and other community safety initiatives, drivers who repeatedly and in a dangerous manner violate traffic laws in the City of Edmonton.

STRATEGY 4: Ensure speed limits and zones are appropriate and consistent throughout the City of Edmonton.

road safety.

STRATEGY 8:Work with the Edmonton Police Service to support strong Police enforcement operations aimed at deterring speeding. 

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The Evidence on Speed and Speeding

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MOBIL OIL 1966

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5 km/h

Transport Accident Commission - Australia

• They’re in a hurry.

Why do People Speed?

They re in a hurry.

• They’re inattentive to their driving.

• They don’t take traffic laws seriously; they don’t think the laws apply to them.

• They don’t view their driving behavior as y gdangerous.

• They don’t expect to get caught.

• Some or all of the above.

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Faster and More Powerful Vehicles

The available 6.2L Ecotec3 V8 engine has 420 horsepower with 460 lb‐ft of torque and is the most powerful Sierra 1500 engine ever, making it the most powerful pickup in its class.

Safe System and Speed Management

Safe Speeds

Safe Roads & RoadsidesSafe Vehicles

Speed is at the core of the Safe System

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Mistakes

Mistakes - New Zealand Transport Agency

Stopping Distance at different speeds (including reaction time of approximately 1 second)

Speed Management – Why Focus on Speed?

(including reaction time of approximately 1 second)

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The Science of Low Level Speeding

Low Level Speeding

Complaint Process

Information and Data Collection

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Public Complaints Received by OTS

The CBC: Edmonton students take to streets, asking drivers to slow down

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Speed Related Complaint Is Received

Speeding Concern is Validated & Assessed

Speed Management Continuum is Consulted

Countermeasure Is Implemented & Evaluated

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Collision Reports

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Speed Management Continuum

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Speed Management Continuum

Traffic Safety Assessment Tool Identify and rank urban residential collector roadways based on their speed‐related safety risk. y

Approximately 32,000 road segments in the City Over 5,000 residential collector road segments

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Community Engagement

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Speed Survey

Category / Sub‐CriteriaCategory 

Weight

Sub‐Criteria 

Weight

Overall 

Weight

85th Percentile Speed 0 395

Driver Feedback Sign Site Criteria

85th Percentile Speed 0.395

0‐5 km/h over speed limit 0.082 0.0324

5‐10 km/h over speed limit 0.218 0.0861

10‐15 km/h over speed limit 0.309 0.1221

More than +15km/h over speed 

limit0.391 0.1544

Collision History 0.232

Fatal 0.373 0.0865

Injury 0.382 0.0886

PDO 0.245 0.0568

Annual Average Daily Traffic 0.164

≤ 2,000 vehicle/day 0.227 0.0372

≤ 4,000 vehicle/day 0.282 0.0462

> 4,000 vehicle/day 0.491 0.0805

Vulnerable Road User Generating 

Facility0.209

School 0.339 0.0709

Recreational Facility 0.189 0.0395

Senior Centre 0.200 0.0418

Bus Stop 0.091 0.0190

Sidewalk 0.091 0.0190

License Premise 0.091 0.0190

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Automated Enforcement - Key Organizations

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

• Responsible for auditing the Automated EnforcementProgram through Provincial Legislation

EDMONTON POLICE SERVICE

• As the local police authority, EPS is the enforcement agency• They retain legislative oversight for the program• They approve all fixed and mobile locations for automated

enforcement

CITY OF EDMONTON TRAFFIC OPERATIONS

• Responsible for recommending speed limits which areapproved by CouncilTRAFFIC OPERATIONS approved by Council

TRAINED PEACE OFFICERS • Carry out all automated enforcement as approved by theSolicitor General

OFFICE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY • Apply an evidence‐based approach to identify locations thatwould benefit the most from enforcement

• Enforces locations approved by EPS• Manage the review process for the Automated Enforcement

Program

EnforcementUnmarked VehiclesCommunity Vans Digital Photo Laser

Intersection Safety Devices Manned EnforcementIntersection Safety Devices Manned Enforcement

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Targeted Enforcement

High Risk Drivers

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Violations and Collisions

30%

10%

15%

20%

25%

olved in

 at Least 1 Collision

0%

5%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12+

Number of AE violations

% Vehicles Invo

Edmonton Automated Enforcement and Collision Data: January 1, 2010‐ December 31, 2011

Topinka, Neil. Project Mercury: Automated Enforcement Data and Driver Behaviour in the Edmonton Capital Region. International Forum on Traffic Records And Highway Safety Information Systems ‐ Special Session, May 2, 2013. Edmonton, Canada.

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GPS and Deployment

Education

Jackson Heights

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Traffic Safety Inserts mailed out with each violation ticket.General information on speed, braking distances as well as gtopical information in relation to the time of year. E.g. back to school, pedestrian awareness, etc.

Community speedawareness  sign 

locations*

Driver feedback sign hours*

Speed trailerdeployment hours*

220 locations 85,704 hours85,488 hours

*Statistics reflect January 1st 2014 – December 31, 2014

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Evaluation

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Stony Plain Road West of 133 ST

Travel Direction

Speed Survey: September  2011

PR October 2011

PR July 2012

Speed Survey: September 2012

PR  September 2012

PR April 2013

EB 20.3% 58.6% 64.0% 20.7% 61.9% 64.9%

WB 28.2% 59.4% 61.1% 36.3% 55.4% 64.8%

EvaluationSpeed survey at Anthony Henday Drive Southbound North of 111 

Avenue

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Driver Feedback Signs

Impact of Driver Feedback Sign

B fBEFORE AFTER

Before

Speed Limit:                            50 km/hAverage Speed:                       60.86 km/hCompliance to Speed Limit:  8.28%

Speed Limit:                            50 km/hAverage Speed:                       49.63 km/hCompliance to Speed Limit:  62.11%

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AE Enforcement Analysis & Current Research

Follow the Province of Alberta Automated Traffic Enforcement Technology Guidelines

Use the state of the art traffic safety statistical methodology (Empirical Bayes) based on vehicle collisions data and intersection traffic volume for site l iselection

Two studies on MPE are in progress: Effectiveness –Time and Distance 

Halo Deployment Framework

Effectiveness - AE Enforcement

What portion of collision and injury reduction is attributed to photo radar and how much to other factors? 

Using best practice methodology and data from 2005‐2012, the study showed that there were significant reductions in all collision severities and types as described below:• Severe collisions (fatal and injury): reduction of 32.1%• Property Damage Only collisions: reduction of 28.7%• Total collisions reduction of 27 7%

Dr. Karim El Basyouny, University of Alberta 

• Total collisions: reduction of 27.7%• Speed related property damage only collisions: reduction of 27.3%• Speed related collisions: reduction of 26.7%

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Just Slow Down – Winnipeg Police Service

WPS Just slow Down

Strings – Parental Role Modelling

Transport Accident Commission - Strings

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Thank You