Skip to main content

Transport Scotland opts for Vysionics average speed enforcement

Traffic control specialist Vysionics ITS has won a deal to deliver Europe’s longest average speed enforcement system. This will be installed on a 220km stretch of the A9 in Scotland. The installation will be the first time average speed cameras will have been used on such a long stretch of road on a permanent basis, rather than for short term use during road repairs. The current road configuration is a mixture of single and dual carriageway which carries a high proportion of HGV traffic. Part of the lon
April 23, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
Traffic control specialist 604 Vysionics ITS has won a deal to deliver Europe’s longest average speed enforcement system.

This will be installed on a 220 kilometre stretch of the A9 in Scotland.

The installation will be the first time average speed cameras will have been used on such a long stretch of road on a permanent basis, rather than for short term use during road repairs.

The A9 has a fearsome record for crashes and this installation represents a trial of the technology, with a view to helping improve safety along the route. The average speed cameras will be installed between Dunblane and Inverness during 2014, forming part of a long term safety strategy that also includes dualling the Perth to Inverness section of the route by 2025. The move is of immense significance and its progress will be closely monitored within the UK and Europe as a whole. Should it deliver the safety benefits expected, it will herald a much wider introduction of average speed camera systems along stretches of the road network with high crash statistics and requiring safety improvements both in the UK and in Europe.

The A9 is a key strategic route in Scotland, running from the central belt through to the highlands and provides an important link for heavy goods transport as well as for tourism. The existing road is a mixture of single and dual carriageway, carrying a high proportion of HGV traffic. The current national speed limit for HGVs over 7.5tonnes is 64km/h on the single carriageway sections, which can often lead to traffic queues and driver frustration leading in turn to poor driver behaviour. Part of the overall strategy to make the route safer, improve journey time reliability and reduce frustration is to increase the HGV speed limit to 80km/h on the single carriageway sections between Perth and Inverness. This will be enforced by the network of SPECS3 average speed cameras and subjected to Transport Scotand’s normal three-year evaluation.

SPECS3 is an ANPR based average speed enforcement system. Camera installations, supported by appropriate signage will be placed at between 5 and 7 kilometres apart, mounted on highly distinctive SPECS columns. The cameras operate in darkness as they feature infra-red illumination. The lack of visible lighting or flashes is particularly beneficial in the Caingorm National Park, where visible lighting is not permitted.

Offence data is collected at the roadside and communicated back to a remote central server. Average speed cameras have been widely used around the UK with more than 60 permanent sites to date. At sites where they have been installed as a casualty reduction measure, killed or seriously Injured (KSI) figures have reduced by on average more than 70 per cent. In addition, traffic flows improve, resulting in improved journey reliability and low offence levels.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New analysis finds speed cameras may create bad driving behaviour
    October 28, 2015
    Using more than one billion miles of driving behaviour data, collected over three years (2011-2014) and including 8,809 separate journeys in 5,353 vehicles, Wunelli, a LexisNexis company, has revealed the most frequent braking black spots across the UK created by speed cameras, based on motorists braking excessively just before speed cameras to avoid being caught. Eighty per cent of all the UK speed cameras investigated had hard braking activity, with braking increasing six fold on average at these loca
  • Jenoptik wins major traffic safety order in Australia
    August 3, 2016
    As part of a long-term strategy to improve traffic safety, Western Australia Police (WAPOL) has awarded Jenoptik’s Traffic Solutions division a contract by the for the delivery, installation, maintenance and in part the operation of an initial total of 81 speed and red light enforcement systems. The seven year, US$21 million (AU$28 million), contract includes options for extension for up to four years as well as for a possible program expansion with additional camera systems. The total volume for Jenopti
  • London needs just one road user charge, says report
    July 8, 2019
    London’s patchwork of road charging schemes should be replaced by a single, distance-based user charge, according to new research. Apart from anything else, it would be much fairer… The UK capital’s multiple road charging schemes require a radical overhaul, according to a new report by the Centre for London thinktank. The suggested solution is to replace existing levies on drivers with a single, distance-based user charge which would more fairly reflect how much, and at what time, people are using London
  • Latvia calls for re-introduction of speed cameras
    November 18, 2013
    Latvia’s road traffic Safety directorate (CSDD) has called for the reintroduction of stationary and mobile speed cameras and higher penalties for exceeding the speed limit. CSDD representative Janis Golubev emphasised that the two main causes of death are violation of speed limits and the carelessness of pedestrians who do not use light-reflecting accessories. ‘Most of the road accidents are linked to speed limit violations,’ he said. He admits that ever since speed cameras disappeared from Latvia’s roa