The City Of Toronto Didn't Issue 89K Speeding Tickets To Drivers & Here's Why

Some lucky Torontonians managed to get out of speeding tickets last year after the City failed to send them to drivers.

The City said it failed to send about 89,000 tickets to drivers after they exceeded the 23-day threshold for a ticket to be issued due to reduced staffing.

The tickets were for drivers caught by Automated Speed Enforcement cameras.

"Due to ongoing COVID-19 public health measures around physical distancing in workplaces, the staffing capacity at the ASE Joint Processing Centre (JPC) has been reduced throughout the pandemic," a spokesperson for the City of Toronto shared with Narcity.

"Unlike other workplaces, it is not possible for these employees to work from home, as the software used to process the ASE charges is on a segregated network that can only be accessed by physically coming into the workplace."

While thousands of tickets never made it to Torontonians, the City still issued over 250,000 tickets last year in an effort to make Toronto roads safer.

On February 3, City Council revealed it will be adding 25 more ASE cameras throughout Toronto, which will bring the total number of speed cameras to 75.

One extra camera will be placed in each ward across the 6ix and will be up and running sometime in 2022.

"Preliminary evaluation data from an ongoing study on the effectiveness of the City's ASE program by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) point to increased compliance and reduced speeding, demonstrating a positive impact on driver behaviour where the speed cameras are placed," the City spokesperson told Narcity.

In the last three months of 2021, over 54,000 tickets were issued to speeding drivers caught on the ASE devices.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.