A crackdown on drivers speeding through the Seaton and Pittodrie areas of Aberdeen has led to a number of them being fined hundreds of pounds.
Police patrols were stepped up between School Road and Golf Road, where there is a 20mph restriction, after complaints from communities.
Locals have also reported concerns about heavy goods vehicles passing through the width-restricted section of the road to avoid King Street.
“They’re deliberately ignoring the law,” William Rea, from Castlehill and Pittodrie Community Council said.
“One of these days, somebody is going to speed and hit a child, or lose control and plummet into a ground floor flat.
“When you see speeding happening so close to Aberdeen Football Club on match days, I dread to think that someone could get hurt,” Mr Rea added.
A second week of police enforcement action is continuing around the area in response to “rising concerns” from the community council.
Sergeant Andy Cruickshank said: “The speed limit is there for safety. It’s not there to cause annoyance to people.
“There’s a school in the area and vulnerable road users who maybe can’t judge the speed of vehicles or move as quickly.”
Motorists who break the speed limit along the troubled stretch face a roadside fine of £100 and three points on their licence.
And falling foul of the width restriction will set drivers back a fixed penalty of £50.
In the first two days of police action:
- Three drivers were fined for failing to adhere to the width restriction
- Three drivers received fixed penalties for failing to adhere to the speed limit
- One driver was ticketed over the level of tread on their tyre
- Two drivers were warned about their speed
- Two people were charged with drug offences
“We’ve got officers out with a speed laser to detect the speed of the vehicles that are on School Road and Golf Road.
“We’ve got another mobile unit that’s out monitoring the speed and also the size of the vehicles that are coming through, so that we can check widths for the enforcement,” Sgt Cruickshank explained.
The officer told the Press and Journal that the police presence was causing drivers to “modify” their behaviour.
“You do notice that a lot of vehicles are going slower than perhaps they might normally. Our presence is making a difference to the speed of vehicles,” he said.
Vehicles which have attracted the attention of officers who’ve pulled them over have also been checked for documentation offences and their condition.
Worst case scenario
Chairman of Castlehill and Pittodrie Community Council Jonathan Smith said some drivers were ignoring the laws and others weren’t aware.
He added: “The worst-case scenario is someone injured or worse, all the more so when it’s a heavier vehicle moving at speed. The outcome from that could be worse.
“Police Scotland do seem to be quite on top of the situation. If they detect that things are sliding, they’re quite quick to intervene.”
In February 2021, calls for more 20mph limits in residential areas of Aberdeen were dismissed after leading councillors claimed it could lead unrealistic expectations they would be policed.
Cllr Marie Boulton said more 20mph zones should not be introduced as the existing ones are not enforced.
“The big problem is 20mph zones give residents an expectation it will be policed – and unfortunately it’s not,” she said.
The councillor added: “You can tell people to drive at 20mph and hopefully they will reduce their speed from 30 or 40mph.
“We need to make sure we can manage what we’ve got before we introduce more.”
