The pandemic has not put the brakes on delinquent motorists, who were more likely to be caught by photo radars last year, giving the state the most lucrative year since their establishment in 2009.
No less than 391,515 offenses were captured by photographic radars and red light cameras between January 1 and December 31, 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.
The sum of the fines for these contraventions totals $ 56,138,361. Previously, the highest-paying year had been 2019 with $ 51,373,189.
The device that has captured the most heavy-footed motorists is heading south on Highway 15 in Mirabel.
In all, it resulted in the issuance of 45,846 speeding tickets totaling $ 5,876,361 in fines.
This represents almost 9% of all reports submitted last year.
It’s not just in the Montreal area that motorists like to speed.
In Quebec City, the radar located at the corner of Charest Boulevard and Saint-Sacrement Avenue alone made it possible to collect $ 3,697,785 for 33,272 reports served.
Mobile and efficient
While flashes from fixed speed cameras and red light cameras turned on less often in 2020, compared to the previous year, flashes from mobile devices reached a new high in fines and fines.
The radar installed following the tragic pile-up of Autoroute 440 in Laval, which killed four and injured 15 in 2019, is the mobile device that resulted in the most traffic tickets. It allowed the remission of 28,285 tickets and the addition of $ 3,761,108 to the state coffers.
If the sum of the fines for this device is higher than that of Charest Boulevard in Quebec City, despite a smaller number of reports, it is because the greater the difference between the speed of the vehicle and the permitted limit, the more the bill is high.
Speed and COVID-19
Even though the roads seemed less busy because many citizens were telecommuting, these results hardly surprised Nicolas Ryan, spokesperson for CAA-Quebec, who spoke of collateral damage from COVID-19.
“This perception can give drivers a false sense of security. When there are fewer cars and the road seems more open, you can tend to have a heavier foot and allow yourself a few misdemeanors, such as looking at your cell phone, ”says Ryan.
The latter refers to two of their polls conducted in Canada in June and December, in which 60% of their members felt they were more witnesses to reckless driving, especially when it comes to speeding.
Over the past year, the Sûreté du Québec has also relayed several speeding offenses on social networks.
By analyzing the 2020 figures for photographic radars, we can see that the months of April and May, during which Quebec was on hiatus, were the least lucrative.
However, offenses increase significantly from July. The operation was the most successful last December, with more than $ 7 million in fines.
Change in law
According to the Ministère des Transports (MTQ), which manages radars, the hiring of new police officers and lawyers as well as the implementation of new image processing technologies, following changes to the law in 2018, may explain in part of the observed increase.
The increase in findings has been more marked since the summer of 2019 since the majority of the changes have been implemented.
“This partly explains the increase in the number of tickets issued until 2020,” says Mila Roy, spokesperson for the MTQ.
MIRABEL
Highway 15 south north of Chemin de la Côte-Nord
- Fines: $ 5,876,361
- Number of findings: 45,846
LAVAL
Highway 440 West near Boulevard Le Corbusier
- Fines: $ 3,761,108
- Number of findings: 28 285
QUEBEC
Boulevard Charest at the corner of Avenue Saint-Sacrement
- Fines: $ 3,697,785
- Number of findings: 33,272
Results of recent years
Findings from radar surveys
Source: Quebec Ministry of Justice