A public insurer has decided to keep its photo radar project indefinitely, saying that it needs time to process the raw data it has collected through the system.
On two separate occasions in late 2014 and early 2015, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) had set up cameras on five major road sections in the province to catch traffic violators in those areas. The insurer had also set up cameras in school zones in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Regina.
The pilot project was supposed to end on March 08, but SGI extended its photo radar enforcement until it could process the numbers and figure out how to make use of the data.
“We’re just working on the evaluation, but preliminary results seem to show that it is slowing people down,” SGI director of traffic safety promotion Shannon Ell told CBC, adding that the evaluation of the results would take a couple of months.
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Ell explained that for the month of January, the overall rate of traffic violations was less than 1% across the board, which met the project’s goal for the first time since it was created.
She also noted that although school zones remain a problem area for violations, the number of speeders caught on camera in Regina school zones has been steadily decreasing year-over-year.
CBC reported that representatives from Saskatoon and Moose Jaw have voiced their support for the photo radar system. Saskatoon’s standing policy committee on transportation even recommended that the city continue to collaborate with SGI for the project, suggesting a request for a two-year extension. In February, Moose Jaw’s budget committee also passed a similar recommendation.
“It has slowed a lot of traffic down in some high volume areas, especially around school zones, so I think it’s an important program to stick with,” Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie told CBC.
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