Accidents on day star hits out at A9 speed restrictions

ROADS: Clarkson says ‘freedom’ to speed now removed

TV star Jeremy Clarkson has been criticised by safety groups after claiming his “freedom” to speed on the A9 had been removed.

The presenter and journalist’s comments emerged on the day the road was closed in two different places due to crashes.

The route between Dunblane and Perth has been lined with average speed cameras for nearly two years during upgrade work.

Despite criticisms, the latest statistics show accidents, injuries and fatalities since the installation of the devices are all down on previous years.

Clarkson, in Scotland filming his motoring show The Grand Tour, mimicked Hollywood film Braveheart by saying: “We have got the A9 – 99 miles of continuous average speed cameras. You can take our licences but you cannot take our freedom.”

Director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart Neil Greig said: “It’s only by having average speed cameras that many more petrolheads will live on to die in their beds.”

Safety campaigners have slammed Jeremy Clarkson for complaining about efforts to cut speeding on the A9.

The controversial television host attacked the road’s average speed camera network, declaring: “You can take our licences but you cannot take our freedom!”

Clarkson made his remarks during the most recent episode of Amazon Prime series The Grand Tour but the director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, Neil Greig, hit back saying: “It’s only by having average speed cameras that many more petrolheads will live on to die in their beds.

“They may not be loved by everybody but they have effectively stopped all dangerously excessive speeding and made the road a much more relaxed place to be.”

The Grand Tour’s tent was sited by Loch Ness, at Fort Augustus, and Clarkson began the rant by talking about the North Coast 500 route.

He told the audience that police had promised to crack down on speeding drivers on the route within hours of its creation. Clarkson then moved on to the A9 cameras.

The average speed system stretching along 30 miles of dual carriageway from Dunblane to Perth and then 80 miles from Perth to Inverness along single carriageway has been in place since 2014.

Clarkson said: “Then we have got the A9 – 99 miles of continuous average speed cameras.

“So let me ask you a question: Dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back and say to the Scottish Safety Camera Partnership – You can take our licences but you cannot take our freedom?”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government-led A9 Safety Group, which oversees the camera system, said: “Mr Clarkson was hopefully just having a bit of fun on this occasion.

“In the two years of being operational, fatal casualties along the A9 corridor within the monitoring area have dropped almost 43% and serious injury casualties by almost 63%.”

Motormouth petrolhead Jeremy Clarkson has lambasted safety groups for removing his “freedom” to speed on the A9. Motorists were sceptical about the effect of average speed cameras when they were first installed on the A9.

It was argued that frustrations would heighten as travel times increased and the human error prevalent in so many accidents would continue or intensify.

Latest figures show collision, injury and, most crucially, fatality rates have all fallen.

Journey times are longer, but only by minutes. No one should be in such a hurry that they would risk their own life and others for a measly saving.

It has become clear the only reason to routinely speed on the A9 is for the sake of speeding.

This may be something Clarkson and his ilk promote and if they want to risk their lives in such a fashion, it could be argued that is up to them.

But they heavily influence other, often young, drivers without their skill and experience behind the wheel.

Every time Clarkson’s acolytes fail to adhere to the law, they are putting the lives of everyone around them at risk.

His comments may have been tongue-in-cheek, or a bid for publicity, but they are ill-advised.

Perhaps he should spend time with some of the many families of A9 victims and re-evaluate them. Motorists need only the “freedom” to be safe from recklessness.

The average speed cameras along the A9 were installed in 2014.

Jeremy Clarkson made the remarks on an episode of The Grand Tour filmed in Scotland.

Picture: Peter Jolly. A pile-up on the A9 involving four cars and a bus closed the road yesterday.

Picture: PA. Very angry driver: Jeremy Clarkson is not impressed by speed restrictions on the major route.