Stephen Walsh
AVERAGE speed cameras are to be installed on the north-east’s busiest road.
The controversial devices will be introduced on the A90 Aberdeen-Fraserburgh road between Blackdog and Balmedie as part of the bypass works.
Temporary speed restrictions have been put in place across the north-east as work on the £745million Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) is carried out, but countless motorists have been caught flouting the 50mph limit on the A90.
Installation of the speed cameras, which will be in place for the remainder of the works, will begin today.
Police, who say they have been receiving “daily” calls about motorists failing to reduce their speed, last month stepped up their patrols of the road, while contractor Aberdeen Roads Ltd repeated their pleas for drivers to slow down.
One driver was caught driving at 90mph within the 50mph limit – passing within six feet of the workmen on the carriageway.
Last night, a spokesman for the AWPR/Balmedie-Tipperty dualling project said the cameras were being brought in to improve safety for all road users.
He said: “Since the beginning of the year, road users will have seen a significant increase in works across the project. The 50mph speed limit, which was introduced in January this year, will remain unchanged and the introduction of the cameras will help to ensure that this is observed.
“To enhance the safety of road workers on the A90 between Blackdog and Balmedie – who are now working in close proximity to road users in this area – additional safety measures are necessary. The use of average speed cameras will also protect road users, where construction operations adjacent to or beneath the road are not always visible to them.
“In addition to the proven safety benefits of average speed cameras, their deployment in major road works schemes demonstrates their ability to improve traffic flow and journey time reliability.”
The average speed cameras are expected to stay in place until the works are complete and the reduced temporary speed limit is removed from Balmedie-Blackdog stretch of the A90.
Aberdeen Roads Limited is working together with Transport Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council, and the North Safety Camera Unit to roll out the devices.
Work to install them will begin today, and they will display signs which read “cameras under test” until they are operational.
Inspector Jon Barron, from the roads policing unit said: “We are committed to making Scotland’s roads safer and any initiative that furthers that aim is welcome.
“The collision history of the A90, together with its strategic importance to the north-east, has resulted in it being a priority route for Police Scotland and it is patrolled on a daily basis.
“With the introduction of the cameras, I can reassure all road users that Police Scotland will continue to provide regular high visibility patrols on the A90, like it does on other similar routes in Scotland, to influence road user behaviour, encourage better driving and enforce legislation when required.”
The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/ Balmedie to Tipperty project is expected to finish late 2017.
In 2014, average speed cameras – which opponents in the north refer to as “yellow vultures” – were installed on the notorious A9 Inverness to Dunblane road.
Figures released by Transport Scotland earlier this year indicated they had failed to lower the number of fatal accidents between Inverness and Perth, although the Scottish Government insists that while looking at the route in full, down to Dunblane, there have been fewer fatalities and serious accidents.
