The City of Toronto begun actively issuing tickets this week in Community Safety Zones near schools as part of its Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) system.
ASE is an automated system that uses a camera and a speed measurement device to detect and capture images of vehicles, including commercial trucks, travelling in excess of the posted speed limit.
The City states “the images are reviewed by Provincial Offence Officers and then tickets are issued to the owner of the vehicle regardless of who was driving. Upon conviction, the only penalty is a fine – no demerit points will be issued nor will the registered owner’s driving record be impacted.”
Current locations were selected through a data-driven approach that considers speed and collision data. A map of current ASE locations can be viewed here.
In practice, the cameras will take photographs of the rear licence plate. In the case of tractors-trailers, because the trailer is not defined as a motor vehicle under the Highway Traffic Act, tickets will only be issued to these vehicles when the rear licence plate of the tractor is visible.
The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) supports the use of ASE near schools in Community Safety Zones and encourages all members to observe speed limits in all school and community safety zones irrespective of the prospect of receiving a ticket.
More information on the City of Toronto’s ASE program can be found here.
