A new average speed camera (ASC) system has gone live on one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland following evidence from similar schemes across the country that has shown significant road safety benefits following installation of the technology.
The new ASC system has been deployed on the notorious 51.5-mile (83km) stretch of the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven. Connecting the Central Belt and the North East of Scotland, the A90 is a crucial part of the country’s strategic trunk road network, with around 23,000 vehicles using the road every day, carrying a mix of commuter, freight and agricultural traffic, and serving the cities, towns and villages along its route.
However, the A90 consistently features as one of the trunk roads in Scotland with the highest collision statistics. In the past five years there have been 60 fatal and serious collisions on the route between Dundee and Stonehaven. Fixed and mobile safety camera deployments have been previously used for speed enforcement on this section of the route, but Transport Scotland (TS) decided that more could be done to improve driver behavior.
Latest analysis of driver behavior on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven reveals:
Three fatal and six serious collisions in 2015;
13,000 speeding offences detected by the fixed and mobile cameras in 2015;
An increase of over 36% in speeding offences in the last three years;
More than three in every five vehicles speeding above 70mph (112km/h);
More than one in every five vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 10mph (16km/h) or more.
TS has deployed the new ASC system following evidence that sustained improvements in driver behavior have been delivered since the installation of average speed systems on the A77 and the A9, with benefits including fewer people being killed or seriously injured and more reliable journey times. The latest figures show:
A9 (Dunblane Inverness) – 43% reduction in fatal and serious casualties;
A77 (Symington Girvan) – 68% reduction in fatal and serious casualties.
The A90 system uses Jenoptik’s (formerly Vysionics) SPECS3 VECTOR ASC equipment.
“I have confidence that the average speed system on the A90 will help save lives. The evidence from other average speed systems across Scotland continues to demonstrate the various benefits these cameras will bring to drivers,” explained Scotland’s Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf.
“While the previous strategy of fixed cameras and mobile enforcement saw casualties reduce at a number of locations across the route, average speed cameras will help to make the A90 safer for all road users.”
