Strides Made for Traffic Safety

June 05, 2012

Report shows significant decrease in injuries and fatalities on Edmonton streets

The City of Edmonton’s Office of Traffic Safety is reporting a 9.5% decrease in traffic-related injuries and a drop of 18.5% in traffic-related fatalities between 2010 and 2011 in Edmonton.

“Traffic safety continues to be a significant area of concern for Edmonton residents, both on major thoroughfares and in residential areas,” says Gerry Shimko, Executive Director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “Although we are encouraged by the decrease in the number of injuries and fatalities, we will continue to improve our collaboration with the Edmonton Police Service, city engineers and community groups with a view to further reducing these numbers in the months and years ahead.”

The report, released June 5, 2012, indicates that:

• There were 23,442 collisions in the City of Edmonton in 2011 compared to 28,480 in 2010 – a decrease of 17.7%.**
• In 2011 there were 3,504 collisions resulting in injuries or fatalities, a reduction of 7.6% from 2010 and the lowest overall in 20 years. These collisions resulted in 4,001 minor injuries, 445 major injuries and 22 fatalities.
• The 22 fatalities in 2011 included 9 vehicle occupants and 13 vulnerable road users (8 pedestrians, 4 motorcyclists and 1 cyclist).
• Collisions at intersections made up 53% of the collision total, but resulted in 68% of the total injuries and accounted for 12 of the 22 fatalities in 2011. Compared to 2010, the number of intersection collisions decreased by 19.6%.
• There were 316 pedestrian-involved collisions in 2011, resulting in 320 pedestrian injuries (a 1.8% decrease from 2010) and 8 fatalities compared to 4 fatalities in 2010. Of these, 54 injuries and 4 fatalities occurred when a pedestrian was crossing at midblock without the right of way (jaywalking).

“The information that we collect and analyze helps us to make informed decisions about new traffic controls, safety measures and enforcement,” says Shimko. “At the same time, it is important to understand how the lives of real people are impacted by these collisions. It is the goal of the Office of Traffic Safety, in conjunction with municipal and regional partners, to continue to encourage all those who use Edmonton’s roads to take personal responsibility for the safety of drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists alike.”

The full report provides a breakdown of collisions in Edmonton by day, week, and month of year; demographic information of drivers at fault and registered drivers in Edmonton; and detail on vulnerable road user collisions (pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists).

The report also includes collision data maps and a glossary of collision causes, as well as intersection-level detail available in spreadsheet form. To download the complete report, please visit: Motor Vehicle Collisions.

**NOTE: On January 1, 2011, Alberta Transportation implemented a change in its regulations that affected the requirement to report collisions. Specifically, the estimated damage amount beyond which a collision is required to be reported to police increased from $1,000 to $2,000. The substantial decrease in collisions in 2011 is likely due in part to this reporting limit change. However, the specific effect of the reporting change cannot be isolated from other factors that may have affected collision totals.

For more information:

Laura McNabb

Transportation Services

Title	Communications Officer
Telephone	780-496-4684

Gerry Shimko

Office of Traffic Safety

Title	Executive Director
Telephone	780-496-2673