Slow down because speed kills, police tell drivers in new Toronto campaign

Toronto police are urging drivers across the city this week to slow down in a new campaign aimed at preventing injuries and deaths of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

In the "Slow Down Toronto" traffic campaign, officers are talking to drivers to make them aware of the dangers of speeding and are stepping up enforcement of traffic laws. The campaign runs from Monday to Sunday and is part of the city's Vision Zero program.

"Speed limits are set to reduce the risk of collision and injury and we are seeing far too many people ignoring these limits," police said in a news release on Monday.

Speed can make the difference between life and death in crashes and it matters when it comes to severity of injuries, police added. 

A full 43 per cent of all fatal collisions in Toronto last year occurred on roads that had posted speed limits of more than 50 kilometres per hour.

The campaign is designed to protect what police call vulnerable road users. That means all pedestrians, but especially school children and older adults, as well cyclists and motorcyclists. All of these groups of people are most at risk when a crash occurs.

In 2018, police in Toronto issued more than 45,000 speeding tickets to drivers and about 380 summonses to drivers for stunt driving.