SGI says bad batteries, damaged lenses contributed to drop in speeding tickets

Drivers in Saskatchewan may have escaped a speeding ticket due to technical problems with the automatic speed cameras used throughout the province. 

Photo speed enforcement has been used in Saskatchewan since 2014. The cameras are deployed on highways and school zones in Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Wakaw, Sask., and work areas throughout the province. 

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), which operates the program, says two issues helped contribute to the problem: damaged lenses and poor batteries. 

"It's very hard for us to point to any one single factor," said Tyler McMurchy, a spokesperson for SGI. 

"Having said that, the battery issue was fairly significant and we can definitely point to that as bringing down the number of tickets." 

What went wrong?

Issues with the camera's batteries were first noticed in the fall of 2022, McMurchy said. 

At that time, SGI's camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Canada Ltd., was required to change the type of batteries used in the cameras to comply with federal regulations. 

"The alternative batteries that were sourced to keep the program running in the meantime, they did have performance issues in the very cold weather and so that resulted in fewer violations detected and therefore tickets issued," McMurchy said.

Due to supply change issues, getting appropriate batteries took months, McMurchy said. The replacements finally arrived in May 2023.  

While dealing with the battery issue, a second problem was noted by SGI and Redflex. 

Each camera is housed in a metal box and inspections revealed the exterior lens of the box was beginning to oxidize. 

The Regina Police Service confirmed the damaged lenses were causing some images to become less clear. 

"If the license plate could not be made out perfectly, the ticket was not being issued," said Regina police spokesperson Lindsey Hoemsen.

A report presented to Regina's Board of Police Commissioners last month indicated there were 54 per cent fewer tickets issued through the automated speed enforcement program in the first six months of 2023 than the same time period in 2022. 

Hoemsen attributed about 15 per cent of the drop to issues with the lenses. The rest was the result of the system working like it should, she said. 

The program is shown to reduce speeding and calm traffic, McMurchy said. 

"The goal of photo speed enforcement is not to generate tickets, not to generate revenue. It would be better if nobody ever got photo speed enforcement revenue. I think we would consider that a significant success," McMurchy said. 

The cost to repair the lenses and replace the batteries were absorbed by Redflex, McMurchy said.