A9 motorists quick to admit speeding
A survey of driver attitudes on the A9 between Perth and Inverness has highlighted that a large percentage of drivers acknowledge they break the speed limit whilst driving on the route.
Over half of people interviewed for a survey carried out by the A9 Safety Group admitted speeding.
A fifth indicated that they had travelled at 15mph or more above the speed limit and more than a third had driven at 10mph or more above the limit either “occasionally” or “frequently”.
When asked if they had any other comments on measures they felt would improve safety on the A9, dualling the road, increasing Police enforcement, using average speed cameras and raising the HGV speed limit were the four most common responses.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “This survey is an important part of our work to improve safety on the A9 ahead of dualling. It indicates that we are heading in the right direction with our plans which focus on engineering and enforcement.
“We have committed to dualling the A9 by 2025 and in the meantime we will continue to work with partners such as Police Scotland and the Safety Camera partnerships to make a positive difference for A9 road users.
“The recently approved proposals to raise the HGV speed limit will bring operational and journey time benefits for users and the average speed cameras will ensure that people drive within the legal limits.
“The A9 Safety Group is clear that average speed cameras are effective in saving lives and this is backed up by the facts. Before and after studies of other average speed camera sites in the UK show a reduction in accidents.
“On average, they achieved a 61 per cent reduction in fatal and serious accidents. Average speed cameras encourage drivers to improve their behaviour and we are already seeing this on the A9 where the number of people speeding is falling.
“The user surveys will be repeated next year, after the average speed cameras and 50 mph HGV speed limit pilot have been operational for six months, meeting our commitment to continue to evaluate the effectiveness of our actions and use evidence to inform our decision making.”
However, local MP and Treasury Minister Danny Alexander said the survey revealed that dualling was much preferred by motorists over speed cameras on the A9 through his constituency.
“I look forward to discussing the findings, along with hundreds of views submitted to me, at Friday’s meeting of the Highland Infrastructure Forum,” he told the ‘Strathy’.
“It’s interesting to see that, when asked an open question about safety on the A9, more than three times as many people said dualling, rather than cameras, should be the priority.
“We all want to see the A9 made safer. I believe, like thousands of Highlanders, that imposing average speed cameras on A9 motorists, instead of delivering the long awaited and promised dualling of the road, will only create more frustration.”
The full survey is available at - http://a9road.info/uploads/publications/A9_Average_Speed_Cameras_and_HGV_50mph_Pilot_Monitoring_-_Before_Market_Research.pdf
