'Please slow down,' Edmonton police chief says after 3 people die in weekend collisions
Edmonton police are urging drivers to slow down after three people died over the weekend in speeding-related crashes.
Thirteen people have been killed in traffic collisions so far this year in the city. According to data from EPS, that figure is much higher than the total typically reported during the first five months of the year. During the same time period, five people last year had been killed in traffic collisions and eight in 2023.
Police say their preliminary findings indicate that speeding was a factor in more than half of this year's fatal collisions.
"That's why we're speaking to the public today to remind everyone to please slow down — it could literally save your life," interim police chief Devin Laforce said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
3 crashes over the weekend
Brad Mandrusiak, acting superintendent with EPS's investigations and support service bureau, said police are continuing to investigate three fatalities that occurred over the weekend.
A 71-year-old man died on the north side after being struck on Friday morning by a 16-year-old driving an SUV.
Early Saturday morning, a 36-year-old man was found dead after losing control of his BMW and hitting a tree in the west end.
And later on Saturday, also in the west end, a 26-year-old man riding a motorcycle died after trying to pass a car that turned left.
Police believe speeding was a factor in all three collisions.
"This weekend, our officers had to share the awful news to three families that their loved ones would not be coming home," Mandrusiak said.
"That is never easy and it never gets easier."
He said traffic fatalities traumatize survivors, families, emergency responders and communities.
What's behind the increase?
Police said warmer weather conditions, more powerful vehicles and risky behaviour being encouraged on social media could be influencing drivers' behaviour.
They said officers will continue to enforce traffic laws — a recent 24-hour blitz led to nearly 200 speeding-related traffic violations — but province-wide, police now have fewer tools to prevent speeding.
As of April 1, the provincial government no longer allows speed-on-green cameras at intersections or photo radar, except in school, playground and construction zones.
The government has said it removed automated sites that don't improve public safety but some have disputed that claim, saying the tool can no longer be used at the most collision-prone locations. In recent months, some municipalities have decided to scrap automated enforcement programs altogether because of the new provincial restrictions.
"Would we prefer to have it? Yes, we probably would," Mandrusiak said.
Laforce said automated enforcement, especially at high-risk intersections, changes driver behaviour and contributes to traffic safety.
"It's part of that solution," he said.
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