Warnings and higher threshold cut monthly speed-camera revenue by nearly €1 million

Fines issued by mobile speed cameras in Estonia fell by nearly 90% in September after the police raised the threshold for enforcement and warning signs were required before the cameras, ERR reports. The changes reduced fine revenue by nearly €1 million compared with September last year.

Police issued €1,256,318 in fines using mobile cameras in September 2025, compared with €199,052 in September 2026. The number of fines dropped from 26,228 to 2,939 nationwide.

Raising the enforcement threshold cut the number of recorded violations by about half, and the warning signs reduced it by roughly half again, according to the figures.

Police spokesperson Taavi Kirss said fine revenue had never been a priority for the police. He said the aim was to make traffic safer and encourage drivers to obey speed limits, adding that higher speeds make hazards harder to spot and increase the severity of injuries in crashes.

Madis Timpson, chairman of the Estonian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee and an initiator of the warning-sign requirement, said it was too early to draw firm conclusions from one or two months of data. He said a longer period and more detailed analysis would be needed, though he viewed the fall in fines as a positive sign.

Timpson said the goal should be to calm traffic, not raise money for the state budget. He also disagreed with claims that drivers slow down only near warning signs, saying that, based on his regular trips between Tallinn and Viljandi, he believed the overall traffic picture had improved over the years. He said he had once been recorded by a mobile speed camera while driving at 56 kilometres per hour.