http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2006 ... 9496t0.asp
Cameras catch out only 31 drivers
By James Rougvie
AVERAGE SPEED cameras installed on a stretch of the A90 between Dundee and Perth to police temporary restrictions are netting less than one speeding driver every two days.
Tayside Safety Camera Partnership yesterday revealed the controversial speed traps, monitoring the site of major road improvements between Glendoick and Kinfauns, have detected 31 offenders since going online on June 23.
The cameras, which calculate the speed of vehicles using number plate recognition software between two fixed camera points, are designed to snare vehicles which breach a 40mph limit.
TSCP officials said they are delighted so few motorists have broken the speed restriction on the busy route. One feature of the cameras’ presence over the summer has been the sub-40mph procession of traffic at peak times each day.
That appears to have confounded an insistence by pressure group Safe Speed that when digital cameras were in place on motorway roadworks there has been a 4.5% increase in crashes.
Scotland’s road safety chief said the average speed system showed the system was not revenue-driven, and had been accepted by motorists.
Both the contractors, Balfour Beatty and Transport Scotland, reckoned a 40mph speed limit was vital to ensure the safety of construction workers and other road users during the 12-month contract, and it seems their faith in the cameras has been vindicated.
The average speed of the majority of vehicles travelling over the stretch was calculated to have been 39mph.
Louise Turner, who is communications officer for the camera partnership, said, “TSCP would like to take this opportunity to thank Tayside motorists for complying with the temporary speed limits.”
“It is encouraging to see such low numbers of offences being detected by the average speed cameras.”
She said that most drivers understood the need for reduced speed limits and accepted that enforcement was necessary to ensure the safety of the construction workers at the site.
Ideally, they She added they would have preferred to have detected no speeders, but she said a that small numbers of drivers continued to take risks, endangering not only their own lives but those of other road users and the workers.
“We will continue to work closely with Transport Scotland to deliver a road safety benefit to the A90, by enforcing the speed limit and by educating and encouraging motorists to adhere to speed limits on all roads throughout Tayside.”
A spokesman for Balfour Beattie welcomed the speed camera initiative, saying the safety of the travelling public and the welfare of its staff was its principal aim during the construction of interchanges.
Hugh McCafferty, Transport Scotland’s head of strategic road safety, welcomed the high level of compliance.
“The low numbers of penalties also highlights that systems of this type are not driven by money but by safety benefits,” he said.
“The travelling public are to be commended on their driving behaviour, and the results highlight public acceptance of the average speed management system.”
The temporary system will be in place until the works end in nine months.
==================
That's a bizarre piece of journalism. I shall write to them.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Members
