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Saskatchewan making speed cameras permanent after seeing pilot program results

The pilot was launched about three years ago and saw speed cameras in Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw.

The province says the number of speeding drivers has gone down in the tested areas, both in high-speed locations and school zones, resulting in fewer collisions and injuries.

The locations were marked with prominent signs, and the province says that will continue.

It also says there will be a warning period with any new location before tickets are issued.

Joe Hargrave, the minister responsible for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, says it was evident as the pilot program continued that speeds were coming down.

“It’s been a really positive effect. And with those fewer casualties and injuries on the roads, that’s very positive,” Hargrave said.

“We know that just makes it safer.”

The government says the program achieved its target of less than one per cent of drivers violating the speed limit, on average, at the high-speed locations where the cameras were tested.

At school zones, the number of collisions resulting in casualties dropped by seven per year.

The province says the decision to continue using the cameras means they can be used at additional sites, which will be determined by a committee.

It says the committee will include representatives from government, SGI, RCMP, municipal police, urban and rural municipal associations and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

The committee will also oversee allocation of money from a new Provincial Traffic Safety Fund, made up of revenue from tickets generated through the program. The money will be divided according to a formula between general revenue, covering program expenses and traffic safety initiatives.

News from © Associated  Press Enterprises Inc., 2018