Speed Cameras Gone, Speeding Surges Nearly 400 Percent
Since Ontario banned automated speed enforcement cameras last October, drivers going 16 km/h over the limit in school and safety zones jumped 380 percent.
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Speeding in Toronto's school and community safety zones has skyrocketed since the province banned automated speed enforcement cameras last October, prompting Mayor Olivia Chow to call for their return.
New data presented at City Council on Wednesday shows a 380 percent increase in drivers exceeding posted limits by 16 km/h or more since cameras were pulled from city streets. In a six-month period from December 2025 to May 2026, 25 traffic fatalities were recorded, compared to 20 in the same period the year before. Two of the recent deaths occurred within 100 metres of former camera locations.
The city deployed automated speed enforcement cameras starting in 2020, and by the end of 2025 — when the program was still operating — Toronto recorded its fewest traffic fatalities and serious injuries since launching Vision Zero. Premier Doug Ford dismissed the program's success as "a bunch of hogwash" before moving to ban it, characterizing it as a cash grab.
Chow called the current data "horrifying." "People are driving like it's a highway. It's a school zone for God's sake. So, bring back those speed cameras because this is just inexcusable."