Dear Editor:
RE: Speed cameras generate $1.18 million in ticket revenue, March 27.
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the recent trial of automated speed cameras in Centre Wellington and the surrounding areas.
Residents driving for decades without a single speeding ticket are now being penalized unknowingly, often multiple times, before receiving hundreds of dollars in tickets weeks later. These drivers are not maniacs or speed demons, they are everyday people driving according to the area, road conditions, traffic and hour of the day.
Driving within 5km/h of the speed limit is considered reasonable in Ontario; it is common driving practice. So those driving a reasonable 55km/h in a 50km/h road who enter the short sections of 40km/h zones without temporarily adjusting their speed are hit with a $103 ticket ($5 per km over plus a $20 victim component fee and $8.25 license plate search fee).
Unlike traditional law enforcement officers, who are trained to use discretion based on real-time conditions and other situational factors, these cameras issue tickets regardless of context, creating a rigid and overly punishing system under the guise of safety.
The speed cameras are frustratingly small and not as visible as you would expect if the desired result was to warn people to slow down. The signs indicating usage are lost amongst the barrage of other signs along the routes. Drivers receive notices well after the fact, often accumulating multiple tickets before realizing they were speeding. This lack of immediate feedback eliminates the opportunity for real-time behavioral correction, which is essential for effective speed enforcement. If the goal is truly safety, then a greater emphasis should be placed on visibility and public awareness encouraging drivers to slow down proactively rather than penalizing them after the fact.
Awareness of the cameras has caused drivers to either avoid those areas entirely, pushing traffic into residential areas and off of the main traffic routes, or they aggressively monitor their speedometers rather than pay attention to the traffic, people and conditions around them. These consequences reduce safety instead of improving it.
Currently 10 more camera locations have been proposed this year across our small community to be installed as early as this September. Specifically if you travel between Ponsonby and Elora Public School you could pass as many as three speed cameras on your route.
There are alternatives to these cameras for improving safety, such as the use of rumble strips, middle barriers, flashing lights, and speed radar signs. Without proper evaluation of the current seven-camera trial, and an increase of 10 more proposed, this initiative will continue to create financial strain and frustration within our community.
I urge all community members to email local councilors to oppose the proposed expansion of these cameras.
Jen Moore,
Centre Wellington