The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Average speed cameras are coming to the A90
SAFETY: 30 cameras to be installed between Dundee and Stonehaven
Average speed cameras are to be introduced on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven before the end of the year.
Transport Scotland said work to install cameras on the road will begin soon, with the system operational by the autumn. The project will cost just under £2 million.
Transport Scotland said it expects the cameras to reduce the number of collisions on the road and result in fewer drivers getting caught speeding.
The move follows the introduction of average speed cameras on the A9 and A77.
Transport Scotland said the network will replace 40 fixed and mobile speed camera points currently used on the A90.
The 30 cameras will be placed three to four miles apart, with 15 on each side of the carriageway, similar to the system in place between Perth and Dunblane.
Luke Macauley, head of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, said more than 60% of drivers speed on A90 between Stonehaven and Dundee, with 20% hitting speeds of more than 80mph between speed cameras.
He said: “There are average speed cameras on the A9 and A77 and, while it’s not appropriate to make direct comparisons between different roads, we know there has been a reduction in casualties since average speed cameras were introduced.
“On the A90 there were three fatal collisions and six serious collisions in 2015.
“More than three out of five vehicles are exceeding the speed limit and more than one in five are exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.”
Transport Scotland said it hopes the average speed cameras will help change driver behaviour so that instead of breaking the speed limit and then slamming on the brakes as they approach a camera, motorists will maintain a steady speed instead.
The organisation also said the introduction of average speed cameras elsewhere has led to a fall in the number of drivers being penalised for speeding, with around 60% fewer motorists caught on the A9 since average speed cameras were introduced.
Mr Macauley added: “We are confident there will be a significant reduction in the number of offenders.”
He added the network will be monitored to gauge its effectiveness and said average speed cameras could be introduced on other Scottish roads where it is deemed appropriate.
Scottish Government transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “The Scottish Government is committed, through Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020, to achieving safer road travel and working towards an ultimate vision of zero fatalities and reducing the number of serious injuries on our roads.
“Installing average speed cameras on the A90 will make the road safer for everyone travelling along the route.
“We already know from our experience with the A9 that average speed cameras encourage better driver behaviour, with the number of fatal casualties down by over 37% and serious injury casualties by 45%.
“We can also expect to see improved journey time reliability and reductions in the number of people getting points on their licence and a fine.
“There have been 60 fatal and serious collisions on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven in the last five years alone.
“Any death on our roads is one too many, and I look forward to seeing similar results on the A90 as we’ve seen on the A77 and A9 in reducing casualties and improving driver behaviour.”
The Road Haulage Association has said the introduction of average speed cameras on the A9 has helped to ease congestion and reduce journey times.
Installing average speed cameras on the A90 will make the road safer. HUMZA YOUSAF
The A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen will be the latest route to fall prey to so-called “yellow vultures”.
Average speed cameras will be installed along the dual carriageway, on which an estimated 60% of drivers breach the 70mph speed limit.
By targeting reckless speeders, the cameras are designed to cut the accident rate, which has proved to be the case on a similar spine road, the A9.
If just one life is saved, it is a project worth undertaking.