edmonton police service traffic safety strategy 2016 - 2020

Traffic Safety Strategy 2016 - 2020

The vision of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is to make Edmonton the safest major city in Canada and for the Edmonton Police Service to be recognized as a leader in policing. The EPS Traffic Safety Strategy supports the mission to increase public safety through excellence in the prevention, intervention and suppression of crime and disorder. Rod R. Knecht, Chief of Police

MESSAGE FROM

THECHIEF

Introduction

The City of Edmonton created the long range strategic plan “The Way we Live” and “The Way we Move” in order to address the view from Edmontonians that their personal and collective safety is fundamental to the livability of their city. The City of Edmonton is entrusted to create, apply and enforce conditions for a safe and secure environment in which to live, work, learn and play. Traffic and road safety are essential to achieve this desired outcome.

Traffic and road safety are multi-faceted issues that require coordinated and varied tactics. Necessary for success of this strategy is a framework of best practices and the available resources to achieve it.

Public safety is the core focus of the EPS Traffic Safety Strategy

Why do we need a Traffic Safety Strategy?

Road traffic injuries are the eighth leading cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-29 (World Health Organization). The Traffic Injury Research Foundation reports the annual estimated cost of road crashes in Canada to be 25 billion dollars per

year. This figure includes not only the direct and indirect costs, but also the estimated costs of pain and suffering. In 2013, 141638 collisions were recorded on Alberta roadways.

Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2015, drafted by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and endorsed by the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, has as its vision to “make Canada’s roads the safest in the world” This strategy is holistic in nature and targets road users, vehicles and infrastructure (Engineering). This is to be accomplished by raising public awareness (Education) and commitment to road safety,

improving communication, cooperation and collaboration among all stakeholders (Engagement), enhancing enforcement (Enforcement) and improving road safety information in support of research and evaluation (Evaluation).

The Alberta Traffic Safety Plan 2015 was designed to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries in the province for all road users including drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and others. It outlines key initiatives to help prevent motor vehicle collisions, build safer roads (Engineering), establish and enforce traffic laws, better educate all Albertans about traffic safety as well as support some

High Income Countries: Road Traffic Death Rate (per 100,000 pop), 2010

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1 Edmonton Police Service | Traffic Safety Strategy

of government’s strategic objectives, specifically, improve Albertan’s quality of life and provide safe and secure communities. The plan focuses on education/training, communication and awareness (Education), enforcement (Enforcement), information for research (Evaluation), policy/legislation/regulation/sanctions, community initiatives and linkages (Engagement). The City of Edmonton Road Safety Strategy for 2016-2020 provides a strategic plan to continue reducing the prevalence of fatalities, major injuries, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle collisions. This plan follows a Safe Systems Approach and introduces Vision Zero, which is a plan to progressively reduce collisions to achieve zero fatalities and major injuries.

Edmonton has seen improvements in traffic safety over the years as informed by the number of injuries and fatalities attributed to collisions:

On average, 344 people are injured in collisions every month in Edmonton. There have been a number of bad driving habits that are identified as contributing to a lack of road user safety. Some of those habits include speeding, distracted driving, and impaired driving. In Edmonton, speed has been the main contributor in 40 percent of fatal and 30 percent of serious injury collisions since 2008. In 2014, The EPS issued 508 summons for speeds 50 Km/h over the posted speed limit.


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Edmonton Police Service | Traffic Safety Strategy 2

The Strategy:

The EPS Traffic Safety Strategy has three key approaches that are necessary to achieve the core focus of improving public safety. The key approaches are Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression. These components are aligned with the focus areas of the National, Alberta, and City of Edmonton strategies under the categories off Education, Engagement, Engineering, Enforcement and Evaluation.

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Evaluation

The Goals of the EPS Traffic Safety Strategy are:1. Evaluation: obtaining information

to make decisions

2. Education: traffic safety awareness and culture

3. Engineering: design and operation of roads

4. Engagement: increased public and community involvement with road safety stakeholders

5. Enforcement: targeting road violations

• Prevention aims to modify or remove factors that decrease traffic and road safety

• Intervention acts to break the chain of circumstances that can lead to road related injuries and fatalities

• Suppression activities stop, subdue or mitigate unsafe occurrences and hold offenders directly accountable

Evaluation:

• Selection of a traffic safety activity is based on evidence and requires evaluation and research. Evaluation can include analysis of existing circumstances that can contribute to a traffic issue, the issue itself, and/or the effectiveness of the intended traffic activity.

• Evaluation of the issue and activity also takes place at the completion of a traffic activity in order to ensure effectiveness. Information is shared with the Office of Traffic Safety to monitor changes in road safety.

• An example of an intelligence-led action includes DDACTS (Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety). This approach includes the integration of traffic and crime related hotspots. Another example is to focus enforcement of roadway violations in high collision corridors.


Evaluation of the traffic strategy requires monitoring of inputs and activities, and outcomes and how they contribute to the strategy’s core focus of increased public safety. Below are suggested areas of focus, with corresponding performance measures.


Inputs Performance Measure

Human Resources # of officers dedicated to investigate traffic issues

Activities Performance Measure

Traffic Safety Education Public awareness of traffic issues and laws

Citizen Engagement EPS awareness of citizen traffic concerns

Enforcement Initiatives # of tickets issued (i.e., speeding, distracted driving,

impaired driving)

Identifying collision hotspots Top 10 collision hotspots in Edmonton

Outcomes Performance Measure

Safer roads in Edmonton # of fatal collisions

# of injury collisions

#of property damage collisions

Increased Public Safety

Detailed evaluation plans will be developed for each initiative developed and implemented under the traffic strategy.

Goal:Education

• Promote public awareness on traffic safety issues.

• Encourage media involvement in traffic safety programs.

• This includes public campaigns on child restraint checks, school zones, student education on impaired driving, lecturing at local schools for pedestrian safety, and many others.

Goal: Engineering

• Concerns are often brought forward by members of the community or observations from a police officer.

• Data is also collected through the accurate investigation of collisions.

• Information is then transferred to the Office of Traffic Safety or other City of Edmonton departments for physical roadway elements that require improvement or repair.

Goal: Engagement

• Relationships with the citizens of Edmonton are necessary to build trust and confidence.

• The EPS Traffic Services Branch and Patrol Divisions are involved with many community events and discussions, such as bicycle safety programs for kids, ensuring availability to answer traffic questions, and supporting a wide variety of community initiatives.

• An important part of engagement is to be available. A Traffic Complaint Constable is designated to intake community traffic complaints and helps coordinate a police response. Further ways to communicate include social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

• Engagement also exists with partnering agencies and road safety stakeholders. Some examples include the Capital Region Intersection Safety Partnership, MADD Edmonton, and the Provincial Impaired Driving Committee.

Traffic Safety

In order to achieve public safety, simultaneous success in each of the traffic safety goals must be reached. Traffic activities under the approaches of prevention, intervention and suppression must be continually supported

with adequate resources.

• Engagement also fits an intervention approach. Individuals and community groups need to be engaged through communication and collaboration. Once individuals become actively engaged they will participate in traffic safety behaviours that assist with new cultural norms that intervene with unsafe road practices for the benefit of everyone. An example of this includes Neighbourhood Pace Cars. Pace Cars advertise that they drive the speed limit and function as “mobile speed bumps” to help set a safe speed for traffic.


Goal: Enforcement• Provide directed enforcement of traffic laws aimed at reducing traffic

collisions. These can include things like speeding, distracted driving, commercial vehicle safety checks and others.

• Continued focus on impaired driving enforcement such as checkstops.

• This may involve units such as the Specialized Traffic Apprehension Unit (STAU), the Major Collision Investigations Unit (MCIU), designated patrol members, and others.

• Enforcement partners specialized traffic enforcement units from the Traffic Services Branch to work with external partners such as the RCMP and Sheriffs. These Joint Forces Operations will continue to be held in and around the capital region with the intent of heightening the awareness of road safety to neighboring communities.

The Province’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Technology Guidelines specify that responsibility for the operation of automated traffic enforcement programs (regardless of how the program is delivered), rests with the police service of jurisdiction, who must ensure that enforcement is conducted in accordance with local traffic safety plans.

If required, either the EPS Traffic Services Branch or patrol resources may be tasked with manned enforcement. In this example automated enforcement would be an intervention approach (causing people to drive slower) and manned enforcement would be a suppression approach (directly holding offenders accountable).


It is clear that traffic concerns will be with us for years to come. Over the next five years, the EPS plans to deploy resources necessary to execute all elements of this strategy, Deployment will require many things, including additional employees devoted to traffic interdiction and enforcement, new education programs, partnerships with other organizations, and continual responses to citizen concerns and complaints. It may also require a curtailment of other activities at EPS, to free up resources for this strategy.

MOVING FORWARD

One of the first initiatives, scheduled for early 2016, is a review of the traffic programs currently managed by EPS. If there are more efficient ways to deploy employees working in the various traffic units or the Specialized Traffic Apprehension Teams (STAT), they will be followed up on.

The ultimate, overriding goal is to improve public safety on Edmonton’s roads


edmonton police service traffic safety strategy 2016 - 2020

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