£972k in speeding fines since limit lowered

MOTORISTS on one of Dundee’s busiest roads have been hit with speeding fines totalling almost £1 million since the limit was lowered to 40mph.

Figures released in response to a freedom of information request from the Scottish Conservatives showed 9,729 £100 fixed penalty notices were issued for speeding on the Kingsway in 2015 and 2016.

The speed limit was reduced from 50mph to 40mph from the Clepington Road junction to the Forfar Road junction at the start of 2015.

The Kingsway is only five miles long, but motorists received almost as many tickets on it as they have on the 61-mile stretch of the A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen.

More than 11,000 tickets were handed out on the road between the two cities over the same two-year period.

There were 5,290 fines issued for speeding on the 15-mile stretch of the A90 between Perth and Dundee.

Bill Bowman, Scottish Conservative MSP for the North East region, said: “At first glance, this looks like a tax on motorists, many of whom are just trying to get from their homes to work.

“The Kingsway can be an exceedingly dangerous road and there have been attempts to make it safer for motorists and pedestrians. I would hope that recent work to standardise the speed limits, creating a longer 40mph section, will see this figure drop as drivers learn the road.”

He added: “I can empathise with drivers who find themselves stuck at the Forfar Road or at Claypotts, particularly during peak times or in football traffic.

“The SNP-run council has been in charge of roads in the city for almost a decade. Nothing much has happened other than the replacement of Dundee’s famed ‘circles’ with an array of traffic lights.

“I don’t think many people will feel that traffic is moving any more easily as a result.”