Edmontonians are not only caught more often for their lead-footed ways than in other Canadian cities, but they’re also driving up danger with their high speeds, police warn.

Crediting faster cars, a growing population and more younger drivers, an Edmonton Police Service traffic safety section member said this city is slow getting the message: speed kills.

“We’re seeing speeds well over 100 kilometres per hour ‘ double the speed limit,” said Staff Sgt. Ted Hrebien of Edmonton Police Service’s traffic safety section.

Edmonton had 21 traffic fatalities in 2011, some involving excessive speed, said Hrebien.

“The higher the speed, the higher the chance you’ll be injured in a crash,” he noted.

Edmonton drivers outpaced Toronto and Vancouver combined in ramping up speeding tickets.

Neither Toronto nor Vancouver use photo radar or speed-on-green measures, which some pan as a cash-grab.

Automated city speed enforcement yielded 183,196, down from 338,530 in 2010, due to problems with speed-on-green cameras from January to July 2011.

“Look at those numbers and tell me it’s not all about the money,” said Charlie Pester, a ticket-defence specialist and former police officer.

Member-issued tickets jumped 50 per cent to 44,843 last year, through routine enforcement and blitzes like Operation-24 hours, said Hrebien.

Eight new officers were also added to the EPS traffic safety team in 2011.