Skip to main content

A9 Safety Group wins prestigious road safety award

The A9 Safety Group in the UK has won the CIHT John Smart Road Safety Award, for a range of interventions along more than 200km of carriageway, including the implementation of 50 SPECS3 average speed cameras, supplied by Vysionics. The A9 SPECS3 installation has been in operation since October 2014, and is already delivering impressive changes to driver behaviour. Whilst it is still too early to report on casualty analysis, key performance indicators are already demonstrating that drivers have improved the
June 12, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

The A9 Safety Group in the UK has won the CIHT John Smart Road Safety Award, for a range of interventions along more than 200km of carriageway, including the implementation of 50 SPECS3 average speed cameras, supplied by 604 Vysionics.

The A9 SPECS3 installation has been in operation since October 2014, and is already delivering impressive changes to driver behaviour.  Whilst it is still too early to report on casualty analysis, key performance indicators are already demonstrating that drivers have improved the way they use the route, which should ultimately make it safer.  According to Vysionics, examples include the fact that overall speeding has dropped from one in three to one in 15 journeys, journey time reliability has improved and journey time reliability has improved. In addition, fewer than ten tickets per day overall have been issued, in traffic volumes of up to 24,000.

The SPECS3 cameras are mounted on highly visible columns, typically located at 5km intervals, covering both single and dual carriageway sections.  As a result, they act as a regular reminder that the route is being monitored along its length, resulting in a more considered driving behaviour.  

The judging panel commented that they were “impressed with the scale of the measures, which combine a package of engineering, education and communications strategies, and enforcement to address a significant road safety problem on an extensive route”.

Related Content

  • October 22, 2014
    HGV speed limit pilot given the seal of approval
    The legislation to allow heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to travel at 50mph on sections of single carriageway on the A9 between Perth and Inverness in Scotland has been signed and will come into force at the same time as the average speed camera system on the route becomes operational – 28 October. The pilot, which was approved by the Scottish Parliament earlier this year, will help to improve journey times and also driver behaviour, by reducing frustration, queue lengths and journey times for HGVs. Trans
  • July 28, 2014
    SPECS3 Vector now Home Office type approved
    Vysionics’ SPECS3 Vector average speed enforcement camera, the latest addition to the company’s successful SPECS family of average speed enforcement devices has achieved UK Home Office Type Approval. Unlike earlier SPECS platforms, SPECS3 Vector is a fully integrated camera unit with all the camera, processing and communications modules built into a single, elegant housing. This increased flexibility makes the device suitable for all current average speed enforcement applications, as well as a range of n
  • December 4, 2012
    ITS World Congress debates perceptions of enforcement
    The technical programme of this year’s ITS World Congress in Vienna includes a special session on the image of enforcement. ITS International examines the scale of the problem and what can be done about it. Debate on the merits and difficulties of enforcing speed limits appears centred on a conflict of principles. Put very simply, local communities, people living close to busy or hazardous roads, want to see traffic speeds calmed. Drivers on those roads, on the whole, want their principle of freedom to be m
  • January 11, 2017
    RAC survey shows big safety gains with average speed enforcement
    Cheaper and easier communications are providing authorities with new options for influencing driver behaviour. Colin Sowman reports. It’s official; Average speed cameras (ASCs) cut the number of fatal or serious injury crashes by more than a third.