http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1295962006
Flash new way to cut down drivers' speed
ALASTAIR DALTON
TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT
FLASHING speed limit signs that warn drivers they are going too fast could replace speed camera sites under a pioneering trial being launched in Scotland.
The signs are being erected this month on 15 stretches of road in Edinburgh, West Lothian and the Borders currently patrolled by speed camera vans.
If the initiative is successful, the vehicle-activated signs may even be tested at fixed speed camera sites. The move follows research showing such signs are more effective than speed cameras at slowing down drivers.
The Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership is the first in Scotland to install the signs, which cost £3,000 a pair, compared with £50,000 for a speed camera.
They will complement flashing speed signs put up by local authorities, including one in the Borders that shows a smiley face if a driver is within the limit and a frown if they are speeding.
The signs will be placed in 30mph and 40mph limit areas. They will be triggered if motorists pass them at or above 33mph or 44mph.
Colin McNeill, manager of the partnership, which also operates red-light cameras and comprises police, councils and the Scottish Executive, said flashing signs encouraged drivers to self-regulate their speed.
He said the number of times the signs were activated would be compared with the number of drivers caught by speed camera vans operating at the sites.
Initially, the vans would continue to visit the sites but they could be removed entirely if sign activations by drivers dropped significantly at other times.
Mr McNeill said: "If vehicle- activated signs produce the same downturn in speeding and accidents as cameras, that has to be really good news. It could reduce the number of mobile camera sites. However, whether signs would ever replace fixed cameras is a difficult one - that would be a big decision."
Edinburgh sites for the new signs include the A90 north of Cramond Brig, the A70 in Balerno and Ferry Road in the north of the city.
In West Lothian, they will be on the A71 in Polbeth and the A706 in Whitburn.
Sites in the Borders include the A7 at Magdala Terrace in Galashiels and in Stow, on the A72 on Innerleithen Road, Peebles, and on the A698 in Coldstream.
A survey for Auto Express magazine last year found that flashing signs had a more lasting impact on motorists than speed cameras, which caused drivers to brake only while they remained in range.
Drivers said speed signs treated them as adults rather than simply penalising them.
Paul Smith, founder of the anti-camera Safe Speed campaign, said: "Drivers will be relieved when they find they are not running the gauntlet of the speed camera vans. Vehicle- activated signs are proven to be far more effective than speed cameras when they are used correctly."
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Some fairly interesting visitor comments too.
I'll have to get a proper grip on the figures that the French chap mentions, because I know that the larger recent gains were BEFORE the first speed cameras appeared.
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