REGINA, Sask. – Do red light cameras work? Well, it depends who you ask. In Regina, red light cameras have reduced the number of red light runners, but the number of collisions remains unaffected.

The red light cameras have been in place in Regina since 2001 and have resulted in a decrease of red light violations by more than 42 per cent at one location. Other locations recorded a drop in red light runners by 29 per cent.

However, police statistics indicate collisions actually increased at intersections with red light cameras. In fact, there was a 51 per cent increase in crashes at the Dewdney Ave. and Lewvan Dr. intersection. Police Chief Cal Johnston told local media he was ‘puzzled’ by the numbers.

“(Are cameras) reducing the number of red lights being run? Yes. Has it been reducing the number of collisions? The jury’s out on that one,” Johnston says. “We need to take a better look at this, because before we expand the red light camera program we need to know if it works.”