Police project targeting speeding and stunt driving ends with 805 charges

Apolice project targeting speeding and stunt driving on Hamilton roads during the pandemic netted 805 charges in just two weeks.

"This number is unacceptable," said Supt. Marty Schulenbergin a media release. "We know there are fewer vehicles on the road right now but there is still an expectation that drivers will obey the rules of the road."

Project Recalibrate was launched after the service noticed an uptick in speeding after the province declared a state of emergency on March 17 due to COVID-19.

The campaign ran from May 4 to May 17 andresulted in the following charges:

• 637 speeding charges.
• 24 stunt driving charges.
• 1 impaired driving charge.
• 143 other traffic-related offences.

The other offences include driving a vehicle while suspended, operating a vehicle without a validation tag, not having a vehicle ownership or insurance slipand failing to surrender a driver's licence.

Police say the goal of the project was to cut down on "speeding trend" seen on Hamilton roads and educate the public, noting a person charged with stunt driving automatically loses their licence and car for seven days.