A9 deaths rise since launch of speed cameras
THE number of fatal road crashes on the A9 soared by 20 per cent after the introduction of average speed cameras, new figures show.
Four people died in the six months after the cameras were installed in October 2014 – but police say excessive speed or overtaking does not appear to have been a factor.
More than 4,000 drivers were caught breaking the speed limit by the cameras which line the route from Dunblane to Perth and from Perth to Inverness.
But the number of injuries has more than halved, an analysis of the first six months of operation has found.
The f i ndings raise f urther questions over the effectiveness of speed cameras which critics believe are aimed more at milking motorists for cash than improving road safety.
Last night Scottish Tory transport spokesman Alex Johnstone said: ‘The fact that speeding and overtaking do not appear to be a factor in these accidents suggests that the current hardline but simplistic campaign against motorists by Police Scotland is misplaced.
‘It is obvious that a more sophisticated approach is required to cut deaths and accidents on our roads, but the question is, are Police Scotland up to it?’
The report compiled by Transport Scotland’s A9 Safety Group, for the period from October 2014 to March 2015, said the ‘number of fatal collisions between Perth and Inverness… is three, some 20 per cent (0.5 accidents) higher than the average figure for the equivalent period over the three preceding years’.
The four deaths represented a 9 per cent i ncrease on the average of 3.67 deaths.
However, only three people were seriously injured after the cameras were installed, compared with a previous average of ten, and 22 were slightly injured, down from an average of 45.
The safety group said investigations into the fatal collisions had still to be concluded but Police Scotland had confirmed that neither excessive speed nor overtaking were considered to be the primary cause in any of them.
The group disclosed that 4,100 vehicles were ‘detected by the system exceeding the speed limit which warranted further action’ between October and July 20.
The report said: ‘While there has been a rise i n vehicles detected over the previous reporting period this remains an extremely high level of compli
‘Hardline policy is misplaced’
ance for a system operating on a 24/7 basis in all conditions.’
A spokesman for the safety group said serious and fatal casualties between Dunblane and Inverness were down by 50 per cent from the average for the same period between 2011-2013.
There had also been substantial reductions in the number of injury accidents and casualties.
Superintendent Fraser Candlish, of Police Scotland’s road policing division, welcomed ‘the 50 per cent reduction in serious injuries’ since the cameras were installed and said the figures showed the vast majority of drivers were obeying speed limits.