Skip to main content

New data shows average speed enforcement halves A9’s casualty rates

New data published by transport Scotland indicates that accident and casualty rates on the A9 have fallen dramatically in the first year of operation of the new average speed cameras. From the beginning of November 2014 to October 2015, two fewer people have been killed and 16 fewer people have been seriously injured between Dunblane and Inverness, while the number of ‘fatal and serious accidents’ between the two towns is down by almost 59 per cent, with ‘fatal and serious casualties’ down by approximat
January 26, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
New data published by transport Scotland indicates that accident and casualty rates on the A9 have fallen dramatically in the first year of operation of the new average speed cameras.

From the beginning of November 2014 to October 2015, two  fewer people have been killed and 16 fewer people have been seriously injured between Dunblane and Inverness, while the number of ‘fatal and serious accidents’ between the two towns is down by almost 59 per cent, with ‘fatal and serious casualties’ down by approximately 64 per cent.

The data also shows that no one was killed or seriously injured between Dunblane and Perth and the number of ‘fatal and serious accidents’ between Perth and Inverness is down by almost 45 per cent, with ‘fatal and serious casualties down’ by almost 58 per cent.

More recent figures confirm that the downwards trend is continuing with no fatal accidents on the A9 in the second half of last year.

Police Scotland have also indicated that the latest quarterly data from the average speed camera system continues to demonstrate extremely low levels of drivers being reported; with the latest figures indicating an average five drivers a day exceeding the operational threshold.

Chief Superintendent Andy Edmonston from Police Scotland said: "The reduction in serious and fatal injury collisions on the A9 in the first year following installation of the safety cameras is welcome. However, while the number of fatalities decreased by a quarter, the case remains that six people sadly lost their lives on the road.

"It is apparent the safety cameras have contributed towards changing driver behaviour, particularly in respect of complying with speed limits. Since the cameras were introduced just over 6,000 vehicles have been detected travelling at excessive speed and subject to enforcement action. To put some perspective on this figure, during the same period there were over 18 million vehicle movements along the route. This represents an extremely high level of compliance.

Transport minister Derek Mackay said: “We are monitoring the performance of the A9 and welcome the figures which indicate that the route continues to perform far more safely than before.  ‘Fatal and serious casualties’ have more than halved and there are clear and substantial reductions in fatal casualties both between Perth and Inverness and between Perth and Dunblane.

Related Content

  • April 5, 2016
    New statistics call for fresh efforts to save lives on EU roads
    The 2015 road safety statistics published by the European Commission confirm that European roads remain the safest in the world despite a recent slowdown in reducing road fatalities. 26, 000 people lost their lives on EU roads last year, 5, 500 fewer than in 2010. There is however no improvement at EU level compared to 2014. In addition, the Commission estimates that 135, 000 people were seriously injured on EU roads. The social cost (rehabilitation, healthcare, material damages, etc.) of road fatalities an
  • March 15, 2012
    Enforcement suppliers highlight industry best practice
    Major suppliers of enforcement technology highlight the countries, regions or cities that they consider to be leading the way in reduction of road traffic violations. The French government’s ambitious programme of enforcing traffic law violations has proven to be an unrivalled success and is continuing to bring improvements in road safety with innovative enforcement technology.
  • November 27, 2013
    Extra enforcement key to cutting road casualties in The Netherlands
    While The Netherlands already has some of the safest roads in the world it has ambitious plans to make them safer still, as Jon Masters discovers. In virtually all periodical studies and comparisons of countries’ road safety performance, the Netherlands is consistently in the top three and often leads the world, depending on how casualty figures are compared. According to the International Traffic Safety Data & Analysis Group (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum, road deaths per capita have falle
  • June 7, 2013
    RAC research – ‘speed cameras cut accidents by a quarter’
    New research by the UK’s RAC Foundation indicates that speed cameras reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions in areas where they are installed. Analysis of data for 551 fixed speed cameras in nine areas shows that on average the number of fatal and serious collisions in their vicinity fell by more than a quarter (twenty-seven per cent) after their installation. There was also an average reduction of fifteen per cent in personal injury collisions in the vicinity of the 551 cameras.