Police are planning to increase the speed at which drivers begin to receive fines for speeding by 3 kilometers per hour. The impact would be significant as nearly half of all speeding tickets are currently issued for such minor violations.
The current enforcement threshold for speed cameras is 3 kilometers per hour. Police are considering raising it to 6 kilometers per hour. For example, in a zone with a speed limit of 90 km/h, this would mean that while drivers are currently fined starting at 97 km/h, in the future fines would begin at 100 km/h, as the device’s margin of error of 4 km/h is also taken into account.
Police say it is important for them to focus their work on high-risk drivers.
“We have focused on offenders who exceed the speed limit by a greater margin. Our goal is to keep traffic safe and fines should go to those who are speeding more significantly,” said Kristi Mäe, deputy director general of the Police and Border Guard Board.
According to traffic expert Dago Antov, the change is unlikely to cause drivers to significantly increase their usual driving speeds.
“This is usually assessed by estimating that raising the speed limit by 10 kilometers per hour increases the average overall driving speed by about 3 to 4 kilometers per hour. Based on that, I would venture to say that raising the threshold by 3 kilometers per hour might increase average speeds by perhaps 1 or 2 kilometers per hour, which probably is not a very serious issue,” said Antov, senior research fellow in transportation at Tallinn University of Technology.
Such a change would reduce the number of fines, as police data show that around 50 percent of speeding violations currently fall within the range of 2 to 3 kilometers per hour over the limit.
According to Riigikogu member Valdo Randpere (Reform), the statistics suggest that raising the enforcement threshold is a sensible idea.
“If that range from 3 to 6 kilometers per hour really accounts for half of all fines, then I think that’s a bit excessive. Perhaps we shouldn’t be issuing so many fines — it is no longer directly a matter of traffic safety but rather a matter of issuing fines for their own sake,” Randpere said.
Police first proposed the idea as an alternative to a Riigikogu plan requiring signs warning drivers of speed cameras to be installed ahead of the devices. The Riigikogu passed that amendment on Wednesday, but it did not deter police from pursuing their own proposal.
“In that sense, the two are connected. If we want to improve our traffic culture, then sticks and fines are not the primary tools for doing so. I think police should have a more visible presence and people themselves mature. We have both freedom and responsibility and I prefer that kind of society,” Randpere said.
Police agree.
“Since last year, we have introduced softer measures in traffic enforcement. It is important for us to establish contacts, talk to people, carry out cooling-off stops and engage in proactive preventive work on the roads. We have seen that this is effective and we will certainly continue with it in the future,” Mäe said.
Police are still analyzing the proposal but expect to reach a decision in the coming weeks.
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