Warning signs and higher thresholds cut speed camera fines by 90%
Friday 9th October 2026 on 13:15 in
Estonia
Higher speed enforcement thresholds introduced in July and warning signs placed ahead of mobile speed cameras in August have helped reduce speeding fines by nearly 90%, ERR reports. Police say safer road design remains more important than enforcement in improving traffic safety.
Mobile cameras issued 2,939 fines across Estonia in September, compared with 26,228 in September 2025, according to police statistics. The Police and Border Guard Board said two fewer cameras were operating this September than a year earlier, and some camera operating time was spent putting up warning signs, but those factors did not change the overall picture of a sharp decline.
The higher threshold for intervening in speeding cases, introduced in July, led to a drop of more than half in recorded speeding violations. The first full month with warning signs ahead of mobile cameras brought a further marked effect, with violations detected falling by about 90%, police said.
Taavi Kirss, head of traffic enforcement at the Police and Border Guard Board, said drivers generally slow down at camera locations marked with warning signs, making those stretches safer. But some speed up again after leaving the cameras’ range, he said.
According to the Transport Administration’s latest survey, 77% of drivers obey speed limits. Kirss said speeding remains a problem among the rest.
Setting up the signs has also brought practical difficulties. Police have identified challenges in installing them along roads, and some signs have been knocked over as large trucks pass.
Kirss said the decline in fines and the resulting drop in fine revenue were not a concern for police, whose goal is to improve safety and reduce crashes. Police do not plan to increase the number of patrols, he said. Traffic enforcement will continue using mobile and fixed speed cameras, as well as regular police patrols.
Kirss said safer, more intuitive road infrastructure can reduce the need for police enforcement. He cited Tallinn, where speed limits in the city centre were lowered in 2024. Crashes involving pedestrians initially fell by about 50%, and the reduction is now around 30%, he said. On highways, police see separated carriageways that minimise the risk of head-on collisions as a key safety measure.