Automated speed enforcement reduced vehicle speeds in school zones in Toronto: a prospective quasi-experimental study

Background/aims Vulnerable road user collisions are a leading cause of injury and death. Speed is the direct mechanism for pedestrian injury risk. We evaluate the effectiveness of automated speed enforcement (ASE) at reducing vehicle speeds in school zones. Methods Quasi-experimental trial with speeds measured before, during and after ASE implementation. 50 ASE cameras were used at 250 intervention sites in school zones between July 2020 and December 2022. Outcomes were the proportion of vehicles speeding and the 85th percentile vehicle speed. Results Proportion of vehicles speeding dropped by 45% (RR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.61) and 85th percentile speed dropped by 10.68 km/hour (95% CI: -11.48, –9.88). Reductions in speed were more pronounced at higher speeding thresholds. Conclusions A significant reduction in speeding was observed when ASE was implemented in urban school zones.

Andrew William Howard, Brice Batomen, Saroar Zubair, Marie-Soleil Cloutier, Alison K Macpherson, Linda Rothman