The controversial installation of average speed cameras on the A9 is already making drivers slow down before they have even started to work, according to the transport minister.
But campaigners insist that the appearance of the devices is making dangerous driving more prevalent on the road.
Transport Scotland issued a statement saying that previous figures had shown that one in three drivers were exceeding the speed limit in the stretch between Perth and Pitlochry but this had now reduced to one in ten drivers following the installation of the average speed cameras in this area.
Measures to reduce driver frustration were also moving forward with the Scottish Parliament having now approved the legislation which will allow the HGV speed limit to be raised to 50 mph on single carriageway sections of the A9 when the cameras become operational in October.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with the Federation of Small Businesses in Inverness, Transport Minister Keith Brown said the multi-party A9 Safety Group was clear that average speed cameras were effective in saving lives and this was backed up by the facts. Before and after studies of other average speed camera sites in the UK showed 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. The Group is also taking forward measures to improve driver awareness of speed limits and to encourage safe overtaking on the route. Surveys have taken place in respect of driver's attitudes and experience of the route and further initiatives are being considered," Mr Brown said.
He continued: "When the camera system is switched on, the HGV 50 mph speed limit will also come into force with the backing of the Scottish Parliament. The pilot will introduce a level playing field for businesses which we expect will also benefit from less disruption caused by fatal and serious accidents.
He said an analysis of incidents on the A9 last year showed that the carriageway restrictions involved in dealing with these incidents totalled more than 540 hours.
He added: "That's the equivalent of over 22 days of restrictions on the A9 last year. The cameras will make connections safer and more reliable and will reduce the cost to the economy of serious accidents."
Superintendent Iain Murray of Police Scotland welcomed the reduction of speeding drivers on the A9. He said: "This is an early indication that drivers are already moderating their behaviour. This can only improve safety on the route and I would encourage all drivers to follow this example".
But Mike Burns of the 'Average Speed Cameras on the A9 Are Not The Answer' said "We have evidence that dangerous driving on that stretch has actually increased since the cameras went in. The fact is that journey times have increased by 40 minutes on that one section from Perth to Pitlochry with an average speed of 32 miles an hour because of the cameras. The drivers are telling us that as a result risky driving has increased in the last two weeks. Also it is a fact that support for our campaign has increased markedly, with more than 300 new supporters in the last few days."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article