'Significant increase in fatal collisions': EPS says speed a factor in half of fatal collisions so far this year
As of Aug. 11, police said there have been 22 fatal collisions so far this year, compared to this time in 2024 when there were 16. In 2024, there were a total of 24 fatal collisions. Of the collisions investigated in 2025, 50 per cent of fatal collisions and 16 per cent of serious injury collisions had speed identified as a factor.
Insp. Brad Mandrusiak, in charge of the EPS traffic safety branch. spoke to media on Tuesday regarding traffic safety since the province pulled 70 per cent of speed cameras in Alberta. He said while it's too soon to say what the impact of speed camera removals have been on traffic safety, he said police are seeing a 'significant increase in fatal collisions' so far this year.
This Q and A has been edited for length and clarity.
What's the current situation since the province pulled the majority of speed cameras?
(Speed cameras) were a tool in our tool belt, but that tool is no longer in our tool belt to the same scope. We continue to do what we can to make our roadways safer using more traditional methods and means.
Speed is a concern for us and it's a concern for the public too. We're asking people to really be considerate on the roadways, to obey the laws, to follow the speed limits and to not engage in any kind of reckless behaviour because clearly it has an impact. These things are preventable.
We still have several months here to go yet before the end of the year, but we're sitting at year to date 18.2 per cent of our fatal collisions involve an impaired driver, versus 7.7 per cent in 2024. We've got a significant number of our files involving potentially not only speed but also some level of impairment on the part of the driver.
Why was there such a large leap in the number of fatal collisions compared to this time last year?
No idea why, not at this particular point.
In the face of some of the movement towards certain tools that we can use within the province of Alberta to specifically address impaired driving, like immediate roadside sanctions, which is a provincial initiative, versus a federal initiative like mandatory alcohol screening.
It is a message that we're obviously concerned might not be getting out that police can stop you without any grounds and demand that you provide a sample of breath for a screening device. For example, the federal law versus the provincial law, which is, if you've got a certain level of alcohol in your body detected through a screening device, there can be pretty serious consequences that flow through an administrative process.
So, an immediate fine and seizure.
The province said it plans to collaborate with local police forces to make speeding less of an issue. What have you heard and what might it look like?
As far as I know, the Edmonton Police Service hasn't received any of the details regarding what the plan will be.
I can tell you that we have our own plan, a part of which is going to be initiated here very soon. It'll run until the end of summer and I'm sure it'll be consistent with whatever the province comes down with as well.
We'll release a lot of the details in due course and you'll see some of the targeted groups in relation to that plan.
ctran@postmedia.com
X: @kccindytran
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