Ending Photo Radar: A Cash Cow or a Safety Tool?
Yesterday Minister Devin Dreeshen announced the end to photo radar enforcement on Alberta highways. Nobody likes photo radar but, it’s the reality of keeping drivers accountable. Minister Dreeshen stated the program was a cash cow and there was no proof it actually improved road safety. Postmedia reported, “When someone says photo radar is the be all and end all, when it comes to accidents, the municipalities that actually removed photo radar, the data doesn’t support that,” Dreeshen told reporters at the legislature. His office declined to provide data to support his statement. Mark Neufeld, the head of the Calgary Police Service called him out for that comment because it’s insulting, and it diminishes the value of enforcement in reducing road incidents. Did the photo radar program get abused to increase revenue? Probably, but does that mean you scrap the whole program? Maybe move the cameras from the cash cow areas? One problem does not invalidate the entire program.
Opposition to Speed Limiters
Minister Dreeshen has a history of disdain for speed enforcement, and this was evident in his rejection of speed limiters for commercial vehicles in Alberta. When British Columbia introduced speed limiters for commercial vehicles in April 2024, limiting commercial vehicles to 105 km/hour, Minister Dreeshen stated “Alberta has no intention to further limit the speed of commercial trucks.” This stance, favoring transportation business interests over road safety, is concerning given the preventable collisions caused by speeding trucks. Vehicle manufacturers cannot out-engineer poor driver decisions and that leaves law enforcement the only option to control speeding. Modern safety features like seat belts and airbags are standard and save lives, so why not speed limiters? Commercial vehicles already collect speed data through GPS and electronic logging devices, yet enforcement rarely holds company owners accountable. Why not write some penalties to the owners for allowing the excessive speed? We already know there are untrained drivers with fake driver licenses all over Canada’s roads, at least control how fast they can go.
Lack of Oversight for Commercial Vehicles
The only mechanism to monitor the on road performance of commercial vehicles registered in Alberta is the Carrier Profile system. The Carrier Profile system has been unable to share enforcement data with all the jurisdictions since 2019 and zero effort has been made to mitigate that situation. This means Alberta Transportation Compliance and Oversight is overseeing inaccurate data. The Third Party Auditor (TPA) program is also fundamentally flawed with inaccurate data because TPA auditors do not have encryption keys to review unencrypted records of a driver’s working time. Insurance companies use this flawed carrier profile information to determine risk when issuing commercial vehicle insurance policies. If Alberta really wants to tackle insurance rates, then insurance companies are going to need to start doing their own carrier compliance assessments and not relying on the information from government.
Safety vs. Business
Minister Devin Dreeshen decisions reflect a pattern of favoring economic concerns over road safety. While his actions may appeal to truckers and businesses, they leave Alberta’s roads less secure. Stricter enforcement, targeted photo radar, and mandatory speed limiters could save lives, but achieving this requires a shift in priorities and maybe an apology to Mark Neufeld and everyone in enforcement.
