The use of red light cameras to capture speeding vehicles is endorsed by seven-in-ten residents.
Vancouver, BC [August 13, 2018] – Most British Columbians support the use of technology to enforce speed limits in the province’s roads, a new Research Co. survey has found.
In the online survey of a representative sample of British Columbians, seven-in-ten residents (70%) approve of the use of speed-on-green cameras, or red light cameras that also capture vehicles that are speeding through intersections.
Automated speed enforcement works by using cameras or sensors to pick up a vehicle speeding. A ticket is then issued to the owner of the vehicle. Driver’s license points are not issued as the driver of the vehicle cannot be identified.
The provincial government announced last fall that red light cameras located at 140 intersections would record 24 hours a day. In the fall, the provincial government is expected to announce the number and locations of cameras that would be used to identify speeding vehicles.
In addition to the speed-on-green cameras, most British Columbians also endorsed three other types of automated speed enforcement.
Across the province, 71% of residents approve of using fixed speed cameras, or cameras that stay in one location and measure speed as a vehicle passes. These cameras can be placed in school zones or on other roads.
In addition, almost two thirds of British Columbians (65%) approve of using mobile speed cameras, which can be moved from place to place and measure speed as a vehicle passes.
A majority of residents (55%) also approved of point-to-point enforcement, which uses cameras at two or more distant points on a road. The average speed of vehicles that pass between points is calculated and tickets are issued to vehicles whose average speed over the distance was excessive.
“There is high support for all four types of automated speed enforcement across the province,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Point-to-point enforcement is the most contentious of all four, with more than a third of residents disapproving of its use.”
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from August 2 to August 5, 2018, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca