We’ve all done it. You’re driving along and suddenly you’re a few kilometres over the speed limit. But you are going with the flow of traffic, or so you tell yourself.

Or you are running behind and need to shave five minutes off to avoid being late. What will it hurt to push down a harder on the pedal?

Actually, it can hurt a lot.

While it might seem inconsequential, speeding is one of the top contributors to traffic injuries and deaths in our city.

In 2024, there were 29 fatal collisions and 13 pedestrians were killed on our streets.

These are moms, dads, partners, brothers, sisters, coworkers and friends.

Last year, 35 per cent of fatal collisions involved unsafe or excessive speed.

We all understand that speeding is dangerous, but we may not understand that every kilometre over the speed limit increases the risk of a crash. So, while understanding and concern is a step in the right direction, we also need to apply behavioural changes.

• Posted speed limits represent the maximum speed for that road in ideal driving conditions. As the weather worsens, affecting traction or visibility, you should decrease your speed appropriately.
• Driving 10 km/h over the speed limit doubles your crash risk, and driving 20 km/h over the limit increases your crash risk by six times according to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation.
• Even small reductions in speed can be significant. For each 1.6 km/h reduction in average speed, collisions are reduced by five per cent according to Parachute Canada.
• A pedestrian struck by a car traveling at 50 km/h is almost six times more likely to be killed than a pedestrian struck at 30 km/h (Parachute Canada).

Think of Newton’s law of motion which tells us force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration (F=ma). Essentially, speeding increases the total amount of kinetic energy a vehicle must absorb at the point of impact. Two vehicles travelling at 60 km/h collide with an impact speed of 120 km/h, resulting in more severe injuries.

In other words, high speeds reduce the ability of drivers to stop in time; reduce the maneuverability of the vehicle to avoid a crash; limit drivers’ ability to safely negotiate curves and corners; and cause drivers to misjudge gaps or distance between vehicles.

If a driver needs to get to a destination 40 kms away and the speed limit is 70 km/h, then the journey will take 34 minutes. If the driver travels 10 kms over the posted speed limit at 80 km/h, then they will arrive at their destination in 30 minutes. However, by shaving just four minutes off their arrival time, drivers speeding at 80 km/h increase their crash risk by at least 60 per cent.

There is a chance that trimming four minutes off your trip makes it 60 per cent more likely that you or someone else will not make it to their destination at all.

Aside from the safety risks, there are other costs to speeding including:

• Fines
• Demerits
• Higher insurance premiums
• Higher fuel consumption
• Potential crash repairs, license suspension.

We are asking you to slow down. Give yourself more time to get to where you’re going. Everyone deserves to get home safely.

Learn more about the City’s Community Speed Watch program