The provincial auditor of Saskatchewan likes what she sees from SGI and the job they are doing when it comes to photo radar.

In her spring 2019 report, Judy Ferguson said SGI, on the behalf of Auto Fund, does a “good job operating the now permanent Automated Speed Enforcement Program under The Traffic Safety Act.”

The province said speed and aggressive driving are the key causes of collisions, and that SGI’s regulations have helped reduce speed-related crashes and their severity.

How they’ve been able to do this, she said, is the use of eight photo radar cameras in Moose Jaw, Saskatoon and Regina.

SGI is responsible to monitor and issue fine based violations consistent with its policies.

“About 44 per cent of photographs taken do not result in fines, despite a speed violation,” Ferguson said.

In 2019, only RCMP and Moose Jaw police services issued fines to out-of-province violators, with 12,300 of those fines issued from speed cameras in Moose Jaw.

Police services in Regina and Saskatoon did not issue any fines to out-of-province violators.

“Failing to issue fines to out-of-province registered vehicle owners who violate speed limits results in inequitable treatment of all registered vehicle owners,” Ferguson said.

SGI requires Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw police to assess violations within seven business days from the violation date.

“For 12 of 30 (40 per cent) of fines tested, the applicable municipal police service did not reject or approve the violation within seven business days. One fine took 31 business days for approval,” Ferguson said.

“Promptly issuing fines provides an opportunity to impact motorist behaviour sooner and subsequently encourage reduced speeding.”

Ferguson said fines issued from the Automated Speed Enforcement Program were consistent with the legislation.

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