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The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) has expressed strong support for the continued use of automated speed enforcement cameras (ASE).
They argue these cameras are effective in reducing speeding, changing driver behaviour, and making roads safer for everyone, including vulnerable road users like children.
MBC caught up with President of the Association of Chiefs of Police and Strathroy-Caradoc Police Chief Mark Campbell, who tells us more.
The OACP has urged Ontario Premier Doug Ford to reconsider his plan to eliminate cameras provincewide, emphasizing that removing them would put pedestrians at risk.
Campbell says the issue goes all the way back to 2021. Back then, the traffic committee for the association brought a reccomendation to support the use of automated speed enforcement cameras as one tool.
The association’s position is backed by a July study from SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University, which found that speed cameras led to a 45 per cent reduction in speeding across Toronto.
While Ford has dismissed ASE as a “cash grab” with little impact on road safety, OACP and several police leaders seem to disagree. They view these cameras as an effective public safety measure that supports and enhances traditional traffic enforcement efforts, helping to reduce speeding and protect vulnerable road users.
Campbell adds that cameras are an effective tool amongst many that help deliver better road safety to communities.
