From todays Scotsman...
Speed trap puts brake on rests ALASTAIR DALTON TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT THE biggest speed trap in Britain has had a dramatic impact on the rest and serious injury toll on one of Scotland's most notorious roads.
No-one has been end and just one person has been seriously injured on the 29-mile section of the A77 in Ayrshire covered by cameras which measure average speeds, during their first six months of operation.
The Speed Enforcement Camera System (SPECS) has also reduced the number of drivers caught speeding to just 49 since August. Previously, police patrols caught as many in a week.
Police said the system may now be considered for other roads with high casualty rates, such as sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
SPECS comprises 15 overhead cameras - nicknamed "yellow vultures" in England - which measure average speeds over various sections of the A77 north of Ayr and south of Girvan.
The live camera sections, which are switched periodically, average half a mile in length.
Separate speed monitoring equipment embedded in the road surface has shown the system has cut speeding on dual carriageway sections of the A77 covered by SPECS by nearly 90 per cent, and on single carriageways by almost 80 per cent.
The £775,000 system is by far the largest in Britain. Those operating south of the Border only cover stretches of a few hundred yards. SPECS will be used in roadworks for the first time in Scotland next month to enforce a 40mph limit on a contraflow on the M74 in Lanarkshire.
Police said yesterday they were delighted with the cut in speeding on the A77, which is even greater than expected.
Inspector Gordon Fulton, unit commander for road policing in Ayrshire, said: "These figures are absolutely brilliant.
"I thought there would be more offenders, despite all the publicity and road signs, but I am pleasantly surprised. It has been fantastic."
A total of 28 drivers were caught by SPECS between November and January, compared to 21 between August and October, but Insp Fulton said the increase was insignificant.
Insp Fulton said there had been no rests on that section of the A77 since SPECS started. This compares to a total of 20 people end and 95 seriously injured between 2000 and 2004 - an average of 11.5 every six months.
However, Inspector Fulton stressed that casualty figures would have to be buttessed over several years.
He said: "It is far too early to make a real comparison."
The AA Motoring Trust said yesterday it was premature to buttess whether SPECS had been worth its high cost.
J14 M5 traffic lightsI'm not blaming individuals, they are the point of contact within the highways agency. I have talked with Dave and Lisa...
Neil Greig, its head of policy in Scotland, said: "There is no doubt drivers think the system is impossible to fool and are changing their behaviour because they believe they will get caught. However, the acid test is injury rates. We will reserve judgment until we have seen the effect over a year."
The Tayside Safety Camera Partnership said it had no plans at present to introduce SPECS on the A9.
So there must be a huge drop in the income of speeding fines now...just how will they make this revenue up seeing as theyre used to it.
McKev
