SGI Minister Don McMorris says photo radar is working

The number of car crash deaths in the province last year was the lowest recorded in decades, and the government believes photo radar played a part.

There were 121 people killed on Saskatchewan roads in 2015. While SGI Minister Don McMorris expressed that number is still “121 too many”, he believes recently introduced safety measures are making a difference.

“Whether it is the extra officers, or some of the different penalties as a deterrents, more education, more photo radar; it is all of those things, not one,” McMorris said.

The government will not be ending its photo radar pilot project that has seen speed cameras placed in high-traffic, high-speed areas such as Circle Drive in Saskatoon and Ring Road in Regina, along with several locations in school zones.

However, those locations have been criticized for not being in high-collision areas.

The pilot project comes to an end at the beginning of 2017, with a report into the data and money generated released later in the year.

SGI released its annual report Monday, which shows healthy balance in both the auto fund side and the competitive SGI Canada branch.
 
A profit of $84.5 million was recorded, despite significant storm losses across the prairies and forest fire claims in northern Saskatchewan.

Correction: A previous version of this story quoted Don McMorris saying it was “one too many deaths” instead of “121 too many deaths”.