The head of Edmonton’s police force is pushing the province to give officers the tools they need to put the brakes on speeders.
Chief Rod Knecht is renewing his call for excessive speed legislation in Alberta that would give police the ability to seize vehicles and issue suspensions for anyone driving 50 km/h over the posted limit.
The move comes on the heels of two more speed-related fatalities in the city’s west end in the past 24 hours - one involving a motorcycle that collided with a parked car, the other a single vehicle rollover on Yellowhead Trail.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that the lives of innocent citizens and offenders aren’t placed in life-threatening situations by motorists driving at irresponsible speeds,” EPS Chief Knecht said. “We’re talking about people that are just clearly avoiding and abusing their privilege of having a driver’s licence here and are putting other people in danger.”
“To be clear, this sort of reckless driving behaviour isn’t just occurring on freeways. It’s now happening on residential streets in many jurisdictions across the province, which should be deeply concerning for all Albertans,” he added.
The EPS proposal also calls for court-imposed fines and demerit points applied to the driver’s profile. First-time offenders would have their licence suspended and vehicle seized for seven days, while three or more offences would translate into a 30-day licence suspension and seizure.
According to the city’s top cop, 75 per cent of Canadians are currently covered by similar legislation in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.
Knecht said while the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police have approached previous governments on the issue, arrangements will be made to meet with Alberta’s new Transport Minister.
“We haven’t had a chance to formally consider it, but we’re very committed to working with our partners in law enforcement,” Premier Rachel Notley said.
Officials said so far this year, there have been 24 traffic fatalities in Edmonton.
With files from Amanda Anderson
