Keeping Oshawa’s roads safer

With the installation of automated speed enforcement devices, local councils are saying one thing: slow down.

Oftentimes driving around Oshawa, Durham, and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area can feel dangerous, as there are some residents who drive at reckless speeds, and put the lives of other drivers at risk.

While it’s safe to say it isn’t everyone on the road who drives dangerously, those few bad apples can ruin it for everyone.

In 2018, Ontario saw a total of 35,746 fatal and personal injury collisions, according to the Preliminary 2018 Ontario Road Safety Annual Report.

This is more than the populations of Brock, Scugog, and Uxbridge.

In total, there were 531 lives lost on the roads of Ontario in 2018, according to the report.

So, to keep drivers safer on the road, automated speed enforcement has become a necessary evil across Durham Region, including Oshawa.

The first devices have appeared in the city, and have now been in action for a few days.

They are easy to spot, as they are large silver boxes, and have been placed on roads which have a reputation for being dangerous.

One such area is on Simcoe Street North by the college and university, where a community safety zone was passed by city council only last year.

This isn’t the only action taken recently to slow down drivers, as Oshawa’s city council recently voted to add two new stop signs on Britannia Avenue in front of Kedron Park.

The area in question isn’t one that immediately springs to mind when it comes to dangerous driving, but it is clear from the wide, nearly straight design of Britannia that it is tempting to speed.

Residents complained of drivers speeding and passing other vehicles, and the ward councillors feared for the lives of residents in the area.

So what better way is there to slow drivers down than to make them stop entirely?

While it may be tempting to speed, or to lose yourself in the feel of the road, remember, you aren’t the only one using it.