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The report’s authors are part of the same crowd pushing Photo Radar 2.0, which includes a vocal B.C. group of publicly funded academic/health professional cycling advocates. They are cheerleaders for the Vision Zero movement, whose modus operandi is to frustrate and expense drivers into oblivion. When speed limits are reviewed and properly set by engineers, without their interference, they call it an “experiment.” They gained publicity in October with little critical examination of their road-carnage claims.

Photo by Submitted / PNG

We have long advocated reviews of highway speed limits and setting them using principles and methodology recommended by transportation engineers. We’ve also said politicians and special interests should have less influence on the process.

Contrary to the Vision Zero advocates’ spin, there is no indictment of the actions of previous minister Todd Stone, who relied on engineers to do their jobs. Transportation Ministry staff did an excellent job of the 2014 and 2018 reviews, gathering reliable data and establishing baselines for future analysis and reviews.

However, 2018 review data contradicts both Trevena’s conclusions and her decree, which suggests political meddling occurred.

Facts noticed by few in media, include that 16 — just more than half — of the affected highway segments had no reduction in safety and instead saw a 14-per-cent decrease in collisions.

Three of the segments where Trevena rolled back speed limits saw either the same or reduced serious-collision rates. Noteworthy is that two of the 33 segments already had a rollback to pre-2014 speed limits (from the earlier review), yet they saw the largest increase in collisions at 72.9 per cent.