Automated Speed Enforcement

Automated speed enforcement is a system that uses a camera and speed measurement device to enforce speed limits remotely in Community Safety Zones. If a vehicle exceeds the posted speed limit in an automated speed enforcement area, the camera system captures an image, which is reviewed by a Provincial Offences Officer. If it is determined that a speeding offence occurred, a penalty order/ticket is generated, including a picture of the vehicle and licence plate and associated fine, and mailed to the registered vehicle owner (regardless of who was driving at the time). 

The Automated Speed Enforcement program is another way the City is enhancing road safety across Vaughan. This program is a key initiative under the MoveSmart Mobility Management Strategy (MoveSmart), which focuses on improving the municipal road network and road safety and supporting the development of more cycling and pedestrian infrastructure to create fully connected and integrated communities.

Automated speed enforcement is an effective tool in raising awareness of posted speed limits and ensuring compliance. Evidence and research indicate other cities have effectively used automated speed enforcement to reduce speeds on community roads, contributing to a safer road network for all users. The program is designed to work together with other methods and strategies, including road designs, education initiatives and traditional police enforcement.

Automated speed enforcement is just one of many programs the City has underway – along with education initiatives and police enforcement – to help reduce speeding in Vaughan. Other programs and initiatives include: 

• Active School Travel
• Corridor Reviews
• Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plan
• Speed Limit Policy
• #SlowDownVaughan

Ten cameras are positioned within Vaughan’s Community Safety Zones, and prioritized based on speeding concerns, overall traffic volumes, collision history and the presence of schools, parks, community centres, libraries, sidewalks and/or cycling facilities. The locations of the cameras can be found on this page and the interactive map.

Signage is posted within each Community Safety Zone where a camera is coming soon or is active.

Yes.  “MUNICIPAL SPEED CAMERA COMING SOON” signs were installed in October 2024, far exceeding the Province of Ontario’s requirement to erect them a minimum of 90 days before a camera is activated. Now, there are “MUNICIPAL SPEED CAMERA IN USE” signs. The City has undertaken extensive efforts since October 2024 to notify residents about the Automated Speed Enforcement program. For future camera locations, MUNICIPAL SPEED CAMERA COMING SOON” signs will again be posted  a minimum of 90 days before the camera enforcement begins. Once the 90-day period is up, these warning signs will again be replaced with “MUNICIPAL SPEED CAMERA IN USE” signs. 

Automated speed enforcement is just as accurate at detecting speed as traditional speed measurement devices used by police. A Certificate of Accuracy of the camera at each location is provided, and is available on the City’s ASE website.

No, it is not a mistake. Cameras may be physically installed at a location before they become active. This period allows for testing, calibration, and system checks to ensure everything is working properly. During this time, the camera is not issuing tickets. The "Coming Soon" sign means enforcement has not yet started. Once the camera is fully operational, the signage will be updated to reflect that enforcement is in effect.

No. The automated speed enforcement system used in Ontario is not a video-based system; only a still image of the licence plate is captured.

The City’s camera vendor is responsible for maintaining damaged and vandalized cameras. The service agreement with the vendor includes all routine maintenance, accidental and purposeful damage to the camera equipment, and vandalism to the units. The vendor will conduct ongoing maintenance of all cameras and provide a monthly summary of their performance. All purposeful damage to the cameras or City property will be shared with and investigated by York Regional Police.

Any driver travelling at or below the posted speed limit will be observed as following the rules established in the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and will not be captured by the automated speed enforcement cameras. 

Automated speed enforcement cameras will only be placed within designated Community Safety Zones. Community Safety Zones are chosen based on the City’s Community Safety Zones Policy (PDF). To learn more, visit vaughan.ca/SafetyZones. Camera locations are prioritized based on speeding concerns, overall traffic volumes, collision history and the presence of schools, parks, community centres, libraries, sidewalks and/or cycling facilities.

No. Decisions around camera locations are not made by request. The City follows provincial policies when planning camera locations using a data-driven process that permits cameras only within designated Community Safety Zones. 

The locations are chosen using a data-driven approach to identify areas where speeding is of concern, prioritizing sites based on overall traffic volume, collision history and the presence of schools, parks, community centres, libraries, sidewalks and/or cycling facilities. 

There is no maximum number of penalties a vehicle can receive. A penalty will be issued to the registered plate owner each time their vehicle exceeds the speed limit in an automated speed enforcement zone. Speed limits are not guidelines – they are the law, and the best way to avoid receiving a penalty is to comply with the posted speed limit.

After the system captures an image of the vehicle exceeding the speed limit, the image is stored and sent to a processing centre. The image and camera data is then reviewed by a Provincial Offences Officer to determine if there is sufficient evidence to confirm a speeding violation occurred. If so, the officer will affirm the offence, and a penalty order/ticket is mailed to the registered vehicle owner. The penalty order contains a digitized copy of the image captured by the ASE camera and an enlargement of the plate portion.

While an ASE penalty will not result in demerit points, a speeding penalty – whether issued by a police officer or through automated speed enforcement – could affect your insurance. Contact your insurance provider for more details.

ASE fine and penalty amounts are determined by the Ontario Regulation 355/22, under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and they correspond with the amount over the speed limit the vehicle is travelling at when the image is taken. The total payable indicated on the penalty order includes the Contravention amount, Authorized Requestor Information Services (ARIS system) fee for plate owner information product and the Victim Component (VC), which is credited to the provincial Victims' Justice Fund account.

1. Contravention amount: this is comparable to POA set fines. Please note that the contravention amount is comparable to existing POA set fines for the corresponding offence of speeding in a community safety zone (CSZ), irrespective of whether the contravention occurred in a CSZ or school zone (i.e., the contravention amount is doubled). The contravention amounts are noted in O. Reg 355/22.
2. Victim Component (VC): this is the same as the POA victim fine surcharge, except where the penalty amount is varied on appeal. Please see the VC section of the program guidelines for further information, as well as ss.6(2), 6(3), 6(4) and 6(5) of O. Reg 355/22.
3. Authorized Requestor Information Services (ARIS system) fee for plate owner information product: the amount of $8.25 reflects the costs incurred by the municipality to access the name and most recent address of the person who is subject to the penalty order and will also be paid by the contravener. Note: when obtaining plate registrant information, the registrant’s most recent address must be obtained, and not the address on the date that the contravention occurred.

Set Penalty Amounts

Victims' Justice Fund 

Note: if the penalty amount is greater than $1,000, the amount allocated to the Victim's Justice Fund is 25 percent of that amount

Example 1:

If a camera system captures a vehicle driving 63 km/hr in a posted 40 km/hr zone – 23 km/hr over the posted speed limit – the Rate of Speed penalty would be calculated at $7.50 per km over the speed limit, as per the above chart. 

Speed Penalty Amount = 23 km/hr x $7.50 rate = $172.50 

Victims' Justice Fund =  $35.00

MTO Search Fee = $8.25

The Total Penalty Amount = $172.50 + $35.00 + $8.25 = $215.75

Example 2:

If a camera system captures a vehicle driving 90 km/hr in a posted 40 km/hr zone – 50 km/hr over the posted speed limit – the Rate of Speed penalty would be calculated at $19.50 per km over the speed limit, as per the above chart. 

Speed Penalty Amount = 50 km/hr x $19.50 rate = $975.00 

Victims' Justice Fund =  $125.00

MTO Search Fee = $8.25

The Total Penalty Amount = $975.00 + $125.00 + $8.25 = $1108.25

Created by the Ontario Government, the Victims’ Justice Fund provides victims of crimes with financial assistance for expenses in the case of an in-person hearing. Based on the Province of Ontario, it regulates and sets the fine amounts for Automated Speed Enforcement (Regulation 355/22, section 6). The Victim's Justice Fund is determined by the set penalty amount/order (based on kilometres per hour over the identified speed limit). Learn more on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website.

All revenues generated from this program will be invested back into protecting our most vulnerable road users, including children and seniors. 

The data collected by the automated speed enforcement system is encrypted and stored on a secure server

No. A penalty is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.

The penalty order is sent to the registered vehicle owner by mail at the last known address on file with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Note: Penalty orders will only be issued through the mail. We do not send penalty orders via text message, phone call, or email. If you receive a message claiming otherwise, it may be a scam. Please stay vigilant and do not provide personal or payment information to unknown sources.

All penalty orders are mailed out to the registered plate owner within approximately 30 days of the contravention.

If someone receives an ASE penalty the options will be included in more detail on the penalty order. However, in short, the penalty order recipient has two options: 

1. Pay the penalty amount according to the instructions outlined on the penalty order.
2. Request to attend a screening to appeal the penalty order. 
    

The penalty order is deemed received in the mail seven calendar days after the day on which it was mailed. You have 30 days from the "deemed received" date to pay or appeal your penalty order.

It is important to note that if one of the options is not exercised within 30 days of the date of service indicated on the penalty order, it will be deemed that the registered vehicle owner does not wish to dispute the penalty and the offence will be affirmed. Once affirmed, additional costs will be added to the total payable amount, as indicated on the penalty order. If the penalty amount is not paid and goes into default, an additional administrative fee will be added. 

Failure to pay a penalty may affect the registered vehicle owners’ ability to renew their licence plate or drivers’ licence, until the penalty and all additional fees are paid.
 

Privacy legislation does not allow cameras to capture images of individuals who are driving though an automated speed enforced zone. A picture of the licence plate is captured only. This is the same with red-light cameras. Owner liability results in the registered vehicle owner receiving the penalty order.

Like toll charges, most rental agreements include a clause that enables rental agencies to pass any fines incurred along to the driver, sometimes with an additional administration fee.

As per the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s.128(13), the only exemption applies to emergency vehicles on duty.

Employees operating City vehicles must obey speed limits and will be ticketed just like any other vehicle. In addition, the City has a policy holding employees responsible for complying with the posted speed limit. The only exemption to this applies to emergency vehicles on duty.

Residents may have already noticed speed cameras in Vaughan. This is because York Region operates its own separate Automated Speed Enforcement program in place along regional roads. Learn more about York Region’s program at york.ca/traffic.

Road safety and speed compliance are region-wide safety priorities. The City’s program will complement York Region’s efforts to ensure overall improved road safety. An aligned speed enforcement strategy will work to improve driver behaviour and support York Regional Police’s efforts to improve traffic safety, reduce speeding and help protect vulnerable road users.