Edmonton council pushes for mandatory vehicle speed limiters
Unable to use photo radar, city council voted unanimously to lobby Ottawa for speed limiters on all vehicles as extreme speeding has more than doubled.
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Edmonton city council voted unanimously Wednesday to direct Mayor Andrew Knack to lobby the federal government to make speed limiters mandatory on all vehicles—excluding emergency responders—as the city grapples with a surge in dangerous driving.
The move comes after photo radar restrictions eliminated a key enforcement tool. Since the restriction, extreme speeding has soared. A University of Alberta study found drivers going 30 km/h or more over the speed limit have increased 128 per cent. So far this year, Edmonton police have written 239 tickets for driving 50 km/h or more over the speed limit.
Speed was a factor in 22 per cent of fatal collisions and 12 per cent of serious injury collisions in 2026, police told Postmedia. Last year, 32 people were killed in car accidents involving excessive speed.
Ward Papastew Councillor Michael Janz framed the issue plainly: "Driving is not a right, it is a privilege." Other ideas under discussion include requiring road testing every five years for all drivers and installing smart traffic lights that turn red when approached at excessive speeds.
Speed limiters are already in use in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and the European Union, capping top speeds anywhere from 80 km/h to 250 km/h. E-bikes and e-scooters in Edmonton already have speed caps. Federal jurisdiction covers what devices are mandatory for street-legal vehicles; the province controls driver assessment frequency and what enforcement tools police can use.