The word "camera" does not appear even once in the latest version of the draft, and follows pushback over data protection issues relating to average speed cameras and other surveillance cameras.

The government said the aim of the road safety plan for 2026–2035 is to steadily reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries and to move toward the long-term goal of zero road deaths in Estonia by 2050. By 2035, the interim target is a three-year average of no more than 22 traffic deaths and 272 serious injuries — nearly three times fewer fatalities and almost eight times fewer serious injuries than last year.

The program focuses on the most vulnerable road users, particularly pedestrians and children. By 2035, no child under the age of 16 should be killed in traffic, and no pedestrian should die in urban areas.

Speaking at a government press conference, Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis (Reform) confirmed average speed cameras are not going to be introduced.

"There will be no average speed cameras, and they are not included in the approved road safety program in any form, full stop," Leis said. According to the minister, there is no reason to suspect any clandestine activity on the part of officials, given it is standard practice for measures discussed during the drafting or consultation phase not to appear in the final approved version.

Ministry of Climate spokesperson Martin-Erich Torjus meanwhile told ERR that references to average speed enforcement had been removed from the draft on December 8.

"The draft traffic safety program included a measure to measure average speed, but it was removed following feedback received at the final stage of the procedure. Therefore, the version approved by the government does not provide for measuring average speed," Torjus said.

Official: 'Automated enforcement' references in revised plan do not mean average speed cameras

Meanwhile Sander Salmu, Undersecretary for Mobility at the Ministry of Climate, said that references to automated enforcement in the latest version of the program do not refer to average speed enforcement.

"Automated enforcement refers to solutions that are already in use or can be expanded, such as mobile speed cameras, traffic light violation detection, or automatic control of public transport lanes," Salmu said. "Average speed enforcement cannot be introduced covertly — its introduction would require legislative amendments and a separate political decision."

Salmu added that the road safety program is a strategic document which sets overall goals and directions, and that it will be implemented through action plans approved by the government's traffic committee.

Lawyer: Cameras will still be there

Lawyer Carri Ginter, a strong critic of the speed cameras program, said the revised draft remains problematic despite the removal of the explicit reference to average speed cameras.

"The cameras have not been removed from the program — they are still there, but hidden away," Ginter said. That measure has been concealed under broader terms such as "automated enforcement," "increasing the volume of speed enforcement," and "data-based traffic management," he said.

"The corresponding term has disappeared, which may give the impression that critics have been accommodated. In substance, however, this is not true," Ginter went on. "Changing the wording does not change the technical or legal reality."

Ginter added that there is no other realistic form of automatic speed enforcement on highways which would consistently cover long road sections other than by measuring average speed, meaning that changes in terminology do not alter the practical outcome.

He also warned that concrete enforcement measures will be decided in annual implementation plans approved by the government's traffic committee, rather than by the Riigikogu. This, in his view, shifts substantive decisions away from parliamentary oversight and public political accountability.

According to Ginter, a core democratic problem lies in the fact that the public gets told one thing while the program text allows another, via technical-ese. "In short," he said, "the measure was kept, but the wording was taken away."

Original draft still referenced average speed cameras

In the version of the draft signed on December 5 by Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis, the use of average speed cameras was still included.

The approved program continues to refer to increasing the use of automated traffic enforcement. For example, the enforcement chapter states that simplifying and digitalizing misdemeanor proceedings requires a greater use of automated traffic enforcement to make processes faster and more efficient.

The draft also states that traffic enforcement should focus on preventing dangerous behavior and rely on automated enforcement options, with success measured by indicators such as the number of measurement points equipped with automated monitoring.

To improve road safety, the state has pledged to invest in safer infrastructure, lowering speeds on dangerous sections, and curbing systematic offenders, while each road user can contribute to safer traffic through their own behavior, it is argued.

These discussions follow revelations in April that the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) had been operating a nationwide network of more than 200 automatic license plate recognition cameras, a system which had expanded over years without a dedicated law or the relevant Riigikogu debate. In response, the prime minister and interior minister said they were awaiting an oversight review by the Data Protection Inspectorate (AKI). Public debate focused on data protection, legal basis, transparency, and the lack of political awareness surrounding the scope and use of the system.

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