Plan to give public speed guns to cut road deaths

THE public could be given speed guns and encouraged to report motorists under radical new plans to cut road deaths.

The Scottish Government proposals, due to be announced this week, may also include building ‘bendy’ lamp posts and fitting cars with an aeroplane-style ‘black box’ to monitor reckless driving.

The scheme is part of ambitious plans aimed at halving road deaths and major injuries by 2030, and eliminating them totally by 2050.

The Government, advised by road charity Brake, will begin a consultation on introducing ‘safe systems’ in Scotland – a model already used in countries such as Sweden and Norway.

But experts are warning the cost to the

Government to properly implement the changes could run to billions of pounds.

Brake has already outlined a new approach, calling for more 20mph roads and crash barriers, and for pedestrians and cyclists to be segregated from cars.

The charity says lower limits can be enforced when ‘community members use speed detection devices’.

Its policy follows similar Community

Speedwatch initiatives elsewhere in the UK, where those caught speeding by members of the public receive a police warning rather than a penalty notice.

From 2022, all new cars sold in the UK must be fitted with Event Data Recorders. On its website, Brake states: ‘In-vehicle technologies may be used to give safety feedback and reduce risky behaviours by monitoring how a vehicle is driven.’