This past Sunday, Nov. 16, was the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, an occasion that took on a solemn meaning for Calgarians as the number of deaths from collisions reached a 10-year high.

In 2025, 32 Calgarians have died in collisions, and more than 2,500 crashes led to injuries.

The number of pedestrians that have died as a result of collisions was 12 this year, just shy of the 10-year record of 13 in 2024, and far above the long-term average.

“Each one of these fatal collisions represents a loved one who did not come home,” said Staff Sgt. Andy Woodward of the CPS Traffic Unit.

“Every year, we see too many families devastated by fatal and injury collisions. Some lose loved ones forever, while others face injuries that can leave physical and emotional scars.”

The majority of those who have been killed this year in collisions have been vulnerable road users, consisting of motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians, said SSgt. Woodward.

“We’re getting far more of those on the road now, and 65 per cent have happened this year in relation to those vulnerable road users. So we think that’s a bit of a trend that we’ve got, that we need to be looking at,” he said.

He said, however, that everyone using the road had to take some responsibility to avoid collisions.

“We can’t put police officers on every corner, so we are asking the public to slow down. If you’re not used to the area, definitely slow down. Keep to that speed limit. Speed limit is there for a reason,” said SSgt. Woodward.

“From a pedestrian point of view, I’m going to ask you to make sure, before you cross the road, you look and see what’s around you, see what vehicles are around you, and if you feel that you might get across, then probably you’re better off waiting for that car to go past and make sure it is clear. Going back to drivers, if you see pedestrians on the road and they’re looking to cross, anticipate they will cross.”

A major changing factor that has likely led to more collisions has been the technology within vehicles, and technology in general, serving as a distraction to drivers.

“It’s difficult to put a number on it, but I think it’s one of the biggest contributory factors to collisions, whether they are fatalities or just damage,” said SSgt. Woodward.

“Only so many people still feel they won’t happen to them and they get away with texting.”

City of Calgary launched new peace officer traffic safety unit to address collisions

Inspector Bradly Johnson, Calgary Community Standards Emergency Management and Community Safety, said that the City of Calgary launched a new peace officer traffic safety unit in March of 2025 to address traffic issues in residential communities.

“What we’ve noticed, regardless of what quadrant of the city we’re in, clearly, there’s issues on the road, around speeding, around how drivers and how people are acting in residential areas and just on the roadways in general the City of Calgary,” he said.

Johnson said the unit was new for the city but not for other municipalities across Alberta.

“We normally didn’t do traffic work in the boundaries of the City of Calgary, but provincially, peace officers do a lot of traffic work across, obviously, the province. So, this team was built and created so we could assist and support in this area and use those provincial authorities within the City of Calgary, to help just support on traffic safety work that mobility has done in the Calgary police services over the years,” he said.

That unit currently consists of eight officers and two sergeants.

“In about six months, what we’ve learned is there is a lot of work out there, and there’s a lot of collaborative pieces that we can help with and assist and support in,” he said.

Johnson said that so far, the unit has issued more than 3,000 tickets with 70 per cent of those for speed.

“This is only in the residential areas, so around school, around playground zones. So absolutely, there’s a need out there to remind citizens, slow them down and just bring awareness to everyone, all those shared road users, that there’s some responsibility everywhere that people need to take just so everyone can be safe,” he said.

Provincial changes to stop the use of photo radar for speed enforcement, and proposed rules for increasing speed limits on highways were likely to continue to further exacerbate traffic safety issues, said SSgt. Woodward.

“I think we’ve got to be realistic. When we got speed limits of 100 or 110, people will always travel 130. Now, if we give them 120, will they travel 140–150… is there a concern? Yes, there would be a concern,” he said.