Canada's most populous city also has the country's largest number of speed traps, according to an online survey from the National Motorist Association (NMA), which lists the "Worst North America Speed Trap Cities, by State and by Province."
Released on Wednesday, the NMA collected reports of speed traps from drivers all over North America. Toronto drivers reported 277 speed traps on the National Speed Trap Exchange, part of the NMA website.
"Toronto has the highest number of speed traps not only in Ontario, but in Canada," said Gary Biller, Executive Director of the National Motorist Association.
In comparison Calgary reported 122, Montreal 64, Mississauga 155, and Hamilton 104. Toronto even has more reports than major U.S. cities like Los Angeles (155) and New York City (29).
So is Toronto the worst in North America, according to this survey? Probably, but Mr. Biller said "We would need to spend more time with the raw data to make an accurate assessment."
Toronto Traffic Services Sergeant Tim Burrows says it's unlikely Toronto motorists are subjected to a disproportionate amount of speed traps.
"I really don't think that Toronto has more speed traps set than major U.S. cities like Los Angeles and New York," said Sgt. Burrows. "I think this is a compliment towards Toronto drivers and their ability to use internet crowd sourcing and community data."
Mr. Biller admits that the data collected is an open archive of public record and there is no formal process of standardization.
"In the case of New York, we see a discrepancy in the numbers because not all the boroughs were lumped together," said Mr. Biller.
For example, Brooklyn had 104 reported speed traps, Staten Island, 97, and Queens, 55. Motorists reporting New York City speed traps often weren't specific as to which particular area of the city they were in.
Another potential weakness in the data lies in the period of time over which it was collected. The first report of a speed trap in Toronto on the NMA website occurs on Aug 1, 2000 and the last was July 18, 2010, meaning the list of 277 reported speed traps was compiled from over 10 years of data.
Canada's most populous city also has the country's largest number of speed traps, according to an online survey from the National Motorist Association (NMA), which lists the "Worst North America Speed Trap Cities, by State and by Province."
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