Photo radar is here to stay in Saskatchewan.
The government announced Monday morning photo speed enforcement (PSE) will continue on a permanent basis, and more locations may be added to the program.
Officials said two years of data shows the number of speeders in school zones and high-speed locations have dropped, resulting in fewer collisions and injuries.
“Excessive speed is one of the leading causes of death and injury on Saskatchewan roads,” said Joe Hargrave, the minister responsible for SGI.
“Our government is committed to making Saskatchewan roads safer, and photo speed enforcement is an important tool in achieving that.”
There were 22 fatalities in speed-related crashes in the province during 2016, dropping to 11 deaths in 2017.
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Injuries remain relatively unchanged during those years – 579 in 2016 and 582 in 2017.
A primary objective of PSE was for a target violation rate of less than one per cent for all camera locations, which officials said was achieved at the high-speed locations.
In Saskatoon, there has been a 15.4 per cent speed reduction on Circle Drive since the program started, and speeds on the Ring Road in Regina have dropped 5.6 per cent.
More PSE locations could be added as a new committee will make recommendations on which high-risk areas could benefit from photo radar.
If new locations are added, a warning period will be in place before any tickets are issued.
The committee will also oversee the allocation of fines from a new Provincial Traffic Safety Fund, which will include photo radar fines.
Hargrave said he would be happy if revenue from speeding tickets wasn’t going into the new fund, but that is not the case.
“People who obey speed limits don’t get speeding tickets,” Hargrave said.
“If someone chooses to drive faster than the legal limit in areas where signs clearly indicate photo speed enforcement is taking place, their fines will support additional traffic safety initiatives.”
Starting in 2019, 25 per cent of ticket revenue from all photo radar locations will go to the government’s general revenue fund.
The remainder of fines from highway location will go to the new fund, and for municipal locations the remaining fine money will be split equally between the fund and the municipality for traffic safety initiatives.
Officials said those initiatives could include traffic calming measures, traffic signal updates, or pedestrian crossings.
Total revenue from PSE up to Feb. 27, 2018 was $10.4 million. Expenses were $5.4 million resulting in net revenue of $5.0 million.