The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
£2 million A90 cameras fail to cut the carnage
Controversial ‘yellow vultures’ under fire as death toll on road rises
THE Scottish Government has been told the north-east has waited too long for life-saving improvements on the A90.
The installation of average speed cameras on the Stonehaven to Dundee stretch of the route two years ago was presented by transport chiefs as the answer. But new figures show the socalled yellow vultures have failed to decrease the number of serious and fatal crashes.
Politicians and campaigners have called for more investment in the north-east to create the flyovers, improved lighting and better junctions that other areas of Scotland are rich in.
Neil Greig, from road safety charity IAM Roadsmart said: “Cameras can only ever be a temporary solution until full engineering improvements are put in place.”
North-east MSP Liam Kerr MSP added: “The cameras do have an impact on speed but some drivers still ignore them and treat the road as a racetrack. One death is one too many and the SNP Government must make proper safety improvements to the route itself before more people are killed.”
Transport Scotland insisted the cameras have “helped to significantly improve driver behaviour” and said it was “unwise to speculate” about their impact until they have been in place for three years.
The installation of average speed cameras on a major north-east route has failed to reduce the number of recorded serious crashes.
It is two years since the £2 million camera system went up on the Stonehaven to Dundee stretch of the A90, with then-transport secretary Humza Yousaf declaring it would “help save lives”.
However, freshly released figures comparing accidents from the 26 months before they were put in place against the 26 months since they went live have sparked concerns about their effectiveness.
The number of collisions classed as “serious” has increased from 20 to 21, while the number of injuries graded as “serious” went up from 27 to 28.
The number of deaths rose from three to five during that time.
Concerned local Stewart Donald carried out the research and has called for the condition of the A90 to be improved to boost safety.
The Inverbervie man argues the data shows speeding is not the primary cause of collisions on the route.
He said: “You would assume this glorious achievement for road safety would have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of deaths and injuries along that stretch.
“I made a freedom of information request to Police Scotland and Transport Scotland, to find out exactly how much safer the road now is.
“Amid all the hype and all the bluster – not to mention the cost to taxpayers and drivers – it has been a total failure.
“The dangerous junctions, the lack of flyovers or grade separation, the lack of lighting, the poor drainage and the poor surface quality are more to blame.”
However, Transport Scotland last night insisted the cameras have “helped to significantly improve driver behaviour” and said it was “unwise to speculate” about their impact until they have been in place for three years.
A spokesman said the body was “committed to achieving safer road travel, reducing the number of serious injuries and working towards an ultimate vision of zero fatalities on our roads”.
He added: “The £2 million investment in average speed cameras on the A90 has already helped to significantly improve driver behaviour and speed limit compliance on the route.
“This adds to the growing evidence base of the effectiveness of average speed cameras, with notable long-term improvements in road safety already seen on the both the A77 and A9.
“The personal injury accident data is not yet fully available in order to undertake an analysis of accident rates on the A90 average speed camera sections.
“It would be unwise to speculate until we have a full three years of operational data to compare to the 2014-16 baseline figure and longterm trends are more clear.”