Take a guess as to how many speeding tickets were issued in 2019 by Alberta RCMP?

100,000? 125,000? 150,00?

The grand total of speeding tickets handed out by the RCMP last year was over 157,000.  Is it any wonder that for the month of April the Mounties are making it their traffic safety focus.

Corporal Ronald Bumbry makes a fairly obvious point when he says 157,000 tickets is far too many.  "The number is very high so people are still not getting the messaging we're trying to put out there.  We're asking everybody to drive to the speed limits that are posted because it's just safer for everybody else on the road."

Speeding behaviors put everyone at risk, drivers, passengers, and other road users and Alberta RCMP want the brakes put on speeding during April, and into the future.

Bumbry has three traffic safety tips to deal with speeding.  "Do ensure that you leave early.  So give yourself enough time to arrive at your destination, wherever that may be.  Respect the posted speed limits and drive according to the weather, road and traffic conditions to ensure everyone's safety on the road."

Often drivers think that going over the speed limit can save them time.  Bumbry says if you believe that, you're only fooling yourself.  "Typically, the amount of time that's going to be saved on a road trip due to people driving faster has been proven to be not that great," according to Bumbry.  "The dangers that it poses from your starting point to your destination does increase if you don't follow the speed limits."

Bumbry explains that April will be a time where individual detachments will be carefully patrolling for speeders, particularly in places where many of those 157,000 tickets were issued in, last year.  "There is some areas where people have a tendency to speed, a lot quicker," he says.

The Alberta RCMP will continue to work with law enforcement and safety partners to ensure Albertans make the right driving decisions and avoid speeding on Alberta roads. 

You can follow them and get their traffic safety tips on Facebook @RCMPinAlberta and Twitter @RCMPAlberta.

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