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It didn’t take long for Calgary police officers to start nabbing speeders in a targeted blitz on Deerfoot on Sunday.
Police say they pulled over 51 speeders in three hours near 64th Avenue NE.
The average recorded speed was 125 km/h, with the top speed being 157 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.
Traffic Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey said police have been noticing increased speeds on Deerfoot Tr. and Sunday’s blitz confirmed their suspicions.
“It was more fruitful than we thought it would be,” he said.
“We were quite surprised in that short period of time there were so many tickets.”
Cops say the speeds seen on that section of Deerfoot Tr. are a concern for them, and the most common contributing factors for crashes in the area are speeding, following too closely, and unsafe lane changes, which have previously resulted in serious crashes including some with fatalities.
Stacey said police are now planning various crackdowns to take place throughout the city using both traffic and district officers.
“We are going to be running those blitzes all over the city all summer,” he said.
The main focus is safety, he added, saying a speeding driver often catches fellow motorists by surprise.
“You could be checking your mirror, doing everything right, and it could appear you have room to move,” he said, adding a speeding vehicle may rapidly fill that space.
“Then you don’t have time to react and neither do they.
“All it takes is one lane change from an unsuspecting motorist and you could wind up with a catastrophic crash.”
Police said they witnessed a number of “close calls” during Sunday’s crackdown.
Agencies/Canadajournal
