No let up in terrible toll of tragedy on Angus roads

Lead-footed A90 drivers have been warned they are still being watched despite roadside speed traps being removed months before average speed cameras are switched on between Dundee and Stonehaven.

Angus scrutiny committee chairman Alex King expressed surprise roadside cameras had been removed prior to the planned October introduction of 30 average speed cameras along 50 miles of the trunk road.

Transport Scotland chiefs have said “mobile assets” will be deployed in the period before the new system becomes operational in October, but after studies revealed one in five vehicles along the route is travelling at more than 80mph, Angus police commander Chief Inspector David McIntosh admitted speeding remained a “challenge” locally.

Road deaths increased from one to three in the latest quarter compared to last year – and the toll of tragedy has sadly increased with the death of a man and a woman in a car crash near Montrose, followed by a motorcycling fatality involving a north east rider on the A92 less than a week ago.

Dangerous driving rose 43% compared to the same period last year, with a 37% jump in speeding offences.

“There were 652 conditional offers to speeding drivers this year compared to 476 and that reflects the efforts we are making, but there are issues across Angus and when you compare the roads of Angus to other areas like Dundee that is a challenge for us,” Mr McIntosh said.

“Speed is a contributory factor to some of those individuals.”

Transport Scotland said some of the existing speed camera sites are being used for the new equipment.

“This is being done in a progressive manner along the route and where equipment is removed the existing route enforcement strategy is being supported by the deployment of mobile assets as an interim measure prior to the average speed system becoming operational in October,” said a spokesman.

“The decision to deploy the average speed equipment was in part evidenced by driver behaviour between the fixed cameras where monitoring equipment detected that more than one in every five vehicles were exceeding the speed limit by 10mph or more along the length of the route.”

“The decision to deploy the average speed equipment was in part evidenced by driver behaviour

Alex King is the chairman of Angus scrutiny committee.