Published at 1:45 am. Updated at 5:00 am.
Speeding is the leading cause of road deaths and serious injuries in Quebec. The more than 250,000 speeding tickets issued by the Sûreté du Québec in Quebec in 2021 are just the tip of the iceberg.
If you stand on a road in Quebec with a speed limit of 30 km/h, you will quickly see drivers driving at 50 km/h without worry.
A 50 km/h road? Glass and metal cars weighing 2,500 kilograms are often moved there at 70 km/h without anyone lifting a finger – except perhaps a motorist’s middle finger if a driver is unlucky enough to be within the limit.
And the speed limits set at 70 km/h or 90 km/h are only suggestions: drivers simply believe that they are on a highway, which makes it impossible to travel safely along these continuous axes using active means of transport such as walking, cycling or electric bicycles the province.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Speed is the leading cause of deaths and serious injuries on Quebec roads.
Why is speeding so common and tolerated among drivers in Quebec?
Limited interceptions
For coroner Yvon Garneau, a long-time interest in road safety, the fact that speeding is common is because police prioritize extreme cases.
A police officer on the highway knows full well that while intercepting a driver at 70 mph, many drivers will accelerate to 130 or 140 or slow down only when they see him. This encourages police to focus on the most vulnerable drivers, such as those driving more than 120km/h, to have a better impact on road safety.
Yvon Garneau, coroner
A side effect of this method is that in most cases the police actually allow excessive speed.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
More than eight out of 10 tickets issued by the SPVM since the start of the year were for motorists driving more than 20 km/h over the limit.
Data from the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) speaks volumes on this topic. The vast majority (83%) of tickets issued since the start of 2023 have been issued to drivers caught driving more than 20km/h over the limit.
“But when there are sufficient numbers or during special operations, police usually lower tolerance based on their ability to intercept the guilty drivers,” notes Mr. Garneau.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Photo radars don’t have the same tolerance as the police. Exceeding the maximum permissible speed of 5 to 8 km/h is systematically punished with a fine.
With photo radar, all tolerance disappears, he explains. “In this case, the violation is systematically detected when the speed is exceeded by 5 to 8 km/h, usually and depending on the dangerousness of the places.” » The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility is considering increasing the number of photo radars on the roads To increase Quebec’s population from 54 to about 250 by 2028.
When asked about the excessive speed observed on Quebec roads, the media department of the Sûreté du Québec replied: “As soon as a driver exceeds the maximum speed limit, he risks receiving a ticket.” When detecting a violation, various factors are taken into account, such as climatic conditions , road conditions, road configuration, traffic density and visibility are taken into account. »
Speeding is rarely punished in Quebec
In some countries and states speeding is punished more harshly than in Quebec.
For example, driving at 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone will result in a $55 fine in Quebec. In Norway, this offense carries a fine of 7,800 Norwegian kroner (976 Canadian dollars).
In this country, the posted speed limit is the maximum speed at which one is allowed to drive a motorized vehicle, notes Christoffer Solstad Steen, spokesman for Trygg Trafikk, a Norwegian non-governmental organization.
If you are driving 40 km/h in a 30 km/h zone and a police officer sees you, you will receive a ticket. You are not allowed to drive faster than the permitted speed.
Christoffer Solstad Steen, spokesman for Trygg Trafikk, a Norwegian NGO
Traveling by motor vehicle causes far fewer deaths and serious injuries in Norway. For example, 392 people died on Quebec roads in 2022. That’s 4.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. In Norway, 118 people died that same year. That’s 2.2 deaths per 100,000 residents, about 50% less than in Quebec.
If Quebec had the same death rate from motor vehicle travel as Norway, 207 people who died on the province’s roads in 2022 would still be alive today. That’s more than one death avoided every two days.
“Lack of political courage”
For Marc Bellemare, a lawyer specializing in traffic accidents, it is the lack of political courage in Quebec that is causing this “open speed bar” situation to persist.
“In Quebec, road safety is about big words, small actions,” he said. Politicians are good at making speeches and saying the right things. But when it comes time to tighten controls, to take tough action in parliament or in the courts, they are missing. »
Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s recent announcement of a series of measures to combat the deterioration of road pricing, such as photo radars, “very disappointed” him, he said.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVE
Marc Bellemare, lawyer
An invoice is needed. Where is the bill? To my knowledge nothing has been submitted. The motivation behind it: The death of the 7-year-old Ukrainian girl who was killed by a driver in Montreal and shocked all of Quebec occurred in December 2022. Nothing has changed since then.
Marc Bellemare, lawyer
“Nothing is operational. On the streets of Quebec, no one slowed down a bit. Everything the minister says is written on a piece of paper. This is Quebec: we talk a lot but we don’t act,” said Me Bellemare, recalling that Quebec remains the only province in Canada that does not impose administrative sanctions once a driver’s blood alcohol level reaches 0.05. even if the risk of collision increases significantly beyond this threshold.
The fact that Quebec’s road network is poorly monitored “is no secret,” he said.
“Without surveillance there is no fear. And everyone does what they want without fear. Those who receive a ticket rationalize and tell themselves that, considering the number of times the limit is exceeded, it’s not that bad… Meanwhile, the traffic balance is getting worse, the vehicles are getting bigger, more numerous and more powerful. The cult of speed is still very present. »
31%
Percentage of fatal accidents in Quebec involving excessive speed. In the case of fatal accidents involving young drivers, this proportion rises to 51%.
Source: SAAQ
251,802
This is the number of speeding tickets issued by the Sûreté du Québec in the province in 2021
Source: Sûreté du Québec
36,886
This is the number of speeding tickets issued by the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) between January 1 and August 31, 2023.
Source: SPVM
Stricter countries
In France, photo radars installed on roads have a tolerance of 5 km/h for speeds below 100 km/h. For example, driving at 55 km/h in a 50 km/h zone will not result in a speeding ticket, whereas driving at 56 km/h will result in a speeding ticket. At speeds over 100 km/h a tolerance of 5% applies.
France also stopped announcing the presence of photo radars a decade ago. Speeding by 50 km/h over the speed limit will result in a three-year suspension of your license, compared to seven days for the same offense in Quebec. If the offense occurs again, the guilty driver faces three months in prison in France.
In Finland, the fine to be paid is a percentage of the offending driver’s annual income. A few years ago, Reima Kuisla, a Finnish businessman, was fined 54,000 euros (79,000 Canadian dollars) for driving at 103 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. The fine was calculated based on his annual income, which was 6.5 million euros (9.6 million Canadian dollars) that year.
In Sweden, driving 1 to 10 km/h over the limit on a road where the limit is 50 km/h or less is punishable by a fine of 2,000 Swedish krona (C$242). In Quebec, the fine for an equivalent offense is $25. Excessive speeding (30 km/h or more over the speed limit) can result in a fine and even the revocation of your driving license for a period of three years, according to the Swedish government. In Quebec, a fourth speeding offense will result in a fine and the suspension of your driving license for a maximum of 60 days.