Thousands of speeding tickets handed out since school began: Montreal police

Thousands of tickets have been handed out since the start of the school year in Montreal for speeding in school zones.

Quebec Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbault said she wants to add 250 photo radar cameras across the province to encourage drivers to slow down.

Guilbault was in Montreal on Friday helping children cross the road on their way to school.

“Let's be careful for our children,” she said. “We have to protect them.”

During her patrol, Guilbault said she noticed some drivers not following the rules of the road.

“They are distracted because you know, you are going to work, you have a lot of things on your mind. you're thinking about your day and everything,” she said.

Montreal police (SPVM) said they have issued around 8,000 tickets in the four weeks after the school year began, which is 40 per cent more than the year prior.

Quebec launched its five-year road safety action plan in 2023 after seven-year-old Mariia Legenkovska was hit and killed by a car on her way to school in Montreal’s Ste. Marie neighbourhood.

In June, Juan Manuel Beccerra-Garcia was sentenced to 12 months to be served in the community and a year of probation for failing to stay on the scene after he hit Legenskovska.

“It happened about two years ago. and yet people are still talking about it, so it shows that it did have an impact, and we could see it by the programs that are being developed,” said CAA Quebec spokesperson Andre Duroucher.

Measures implemented since then have included reducing speed limits to 30 km/h in most school zones.

Some parents say the situation has improved since the new measures were introduced.