It was one part traffic enforcement blitz and one part informal traffic study.
Ottawa Police were out in force at the intersection of Bank Street and Hunt Club Road. They were looking for any and all traffic infractions, and they weren’t disappointed. In less than an hour they pulled over one vehicle after another for everything from texting while driving to failure to wear a seatbelt.
Police conducted a similar blitz at the intersection of Hunt Club and Woodroffe Avenue the day before. It all comes in wake of a new traffic report that ranks the City’s most dangerous intersections. Six of the top ten are along Hunt Club Road.
Police say a big part of it is simply the law of averages. There are more cars driving on Hunt Club, raising the risk of more collisions. “25-thousand plus cars pass through the Hunt Club corridor on a daily basis,” says Sgt. Mark Gatien of the Ottawa Police Service.
A busier road also tends to create more impatient drivers. One of the most common infractions observed by Police is cars trying to make it through the intersection after the light turns red.
It’s the kind of information Police could use to better target their traffic enforcement, or suggest changes. “The other solution perhaps might be to get more red light cameras at some of these intersections,” says Gatien.
He maintains, however, that the best solution to make this or any intersection safer is for drivers to give themselves more time, pay more attention, and obey the rules of the road.
