Sask. highways still safe at higher speeds

Drivers in Saskatchewan are cruising along as safely as ever, despite an increase in highway speed limits.

In June 2003, the government increased the speed limit from 100 to 110 kilometres per hour on the divided portions of highways 1 and 11.

The RCMP say highways are not any more dangerous now than they were one year ago, and traffic safety analysts at Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) have not found any statistical trends relating to speed limits.

But SGI's Kwei Quaye says speed is a factor when road conditions are less than ideal.

"One type of speed-related collision that tends to be more problematic is driving too fast for road conditions," says Quaye.

"The road might be slippery, the visibility may not be that great, and that tends to be more of a problem for us than the mere fact of speeding in excess of the speed limit."

Apart from safety, there are other concerns about speed. Environmentalists point out that fuel consumption goes up at faster speeds, and burning more gasoline increases greenhouse gas emissions.