UKC

I remember reading previous discussions and not everyone was convinced. 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-43822162

 

 

In reply to estivoautumnal:

I drive the road every month. Generally the cameras  seem to have improved driving behaviour. My run to Inverness from Glasgow takes no longer than it did before cameras were installed particularly since the dualled section north of Kingussie opened.

However, not all drivers understand the signage and how the system works

EG the 50mph limit for lorries - some car drivers seem to think it apples to them as well!  Some don't seem to realise that the measurement is done camera to camera not averaged out over longer distances- 

Between Perth and Inverness there are no cameras on the dual carriageway sections - these sections are therefore not average speed measured

 

In reply to The Watch of Barrisdale:

Really? I'm sure there are sections between cameras that run, single-duel-single carriageway. I assumed that the acceptable speed for cars on this section would work on the basis of 60-70-60 mph for each stretch (it's fairly easy to calculate when you know the distances). You are implying that no recording takes place between those cameras then?

In reply to Jon Read:

The dualled sections are definitely not covered - however you will sometimes see a camera van sitting beside one of these eg Daviot to Inverness. I've driven the road every month north and south for the past 10 years.

Overtaking lane sections are included in covered sections eg north of Ralia. Some drivers seem to think they can do 70 in an overtaking lane.

You just have to slow down to 50mph after overtaking to keep your average down

 

In reply to Robert Durran:

Fair point. but most people don't bother.

In reply to The Watch of Barrisdale:

Something I've noticed recently is that the majority of trucks are doing 60 now. Do they know something we don't?

In reply to Mike-W-99:

Yes I’ve noticed I’m being overtaken by trucks on the M6 and M60 works whilst sitting at 50. They rumble past presumably on their limiter at 56. I know you’re usually given 10% plus a bit, maybe they’ve figured they don’t get done staying at their limit? 

In reply to The Watch of Barrisdale:

Some drivers seem to think that the limit is the mandatory speed that you must travel and not the maximum. 

In reply to Mike-W-99:

The cameras must either be making a small fortune from fines or they don't work. I know of one person who has had a ticket, though that was just after they were installed.  Lorries travel at 60 on both single and dual carriageway. Vans also very rarely stick to 50.

Overtaking on single carriage way saves very little time for the much increased risk and extra fuel consumption but I guess it makes people feel better.  Looking forward to the whole lot being duelled.

In reply to jamscoz:

Maybe not, but they are working in the sense that they are improving safety anyway!

The cameras seem to me to have more or less eliminated the crazy overtaking (because you have to slow down again afterwards anyway) which I imagine was the cause of many of the accidents.

 

In reply to estivoautumnal:

The A9 used to be a pretty gruesome drive before the cameras. Personally I think their introduction has eliminated some of the more 'heroic' over-taking one used to see in the old days. 

 

A good thing in my book.

 

In reply to Robert Durran:

If you have an average speed computer you soon see that in anything approaching normal traffic it's actually quite difficult to maintain an average of 60mph on the A9. The only time I've even been close is in the middle of the night.

In reply to planetmarshall:

I agree. In moderate to heavy traffic, I think the journey time is pretty much unchanged but less stressful and dangerous. It is only slower when the road is pretty empty (and then only if you used to break the speed limit........ ).

In reply to The Watch of Barrisdale:

Thanks --- good to know. 

Seems a much safer road now than it was.

In reply to estivoautumnal:

I drive the A9 every month. My car has a rather handy average speed function that can be reset as one passes a camera. Thus overtaking is facilitated and one’s average speed can be adjusted before the next camera. The alternative is to travel early morning, set the cruise control to 65 and enjoy the view.

In reply to Toccata:

And play the game of seeing how low you can get your fuel consumption between Perth and Inverness. I've found it interesting what a huge difference there is between the uphill leg before Drumochter and the downhill leg after.

In reply to The Watch of Barrisdale:

Out of interest, how do you know this? Personal trial and (not) error, or have you read/heard it somewhere? There are definitely cameras at the start and end of each dualled section. Just curious if perhaps they do work, but the trigger for them is significantly above 70mph and so the impression is that they aren't active.

In reply to NottsRich:

There are definitely no avg speed cameras on the dualled sections. 

I am absolutely in no doubt

I think the introduction of the avg speed on the single carriageway is excellent. Really makes the A9 much more stress free to drive.

In reply to NottsRich:

If you use a tom-tom it tells you which sections are avg speed. 100% not on the dualled sections.

In reply to NottsRich:

Or rephrase that as "There are definitely cameras at the end and start of each single carriageway section."

 

In reply to NottsRich:

The cameras are at the end of the last single and start off the next single, no cameras in the duel sections.

I still overtake though, it's mostly trucks that you get stuck behind. It's be a lot safer if people left 2 seconds between vehicles.

In reply to Lusk:

Exactly. So why did 'they' not get the cameras to monitor the dualled sections as well? Can't imagine it's out of good will. The cameras are already in place and logging data, so why not use it?

 

In reply to NottsRich:

https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/more-drivers-speeding-on-dual-carri...

You might find this of interest. From 2015 but given what others have been saying on this thread, I presume still relevant.

News to me.

In reply to IM:

I always hate statistics reports like this, as it never gives a full picture. From the article “106 in August versus 99 the year before” but no reference to the the number of mobile van hours to catch them in each year, so not actually comparable...

In reply to mal_meech:

And maybe the mobile cameras are now concentrated on the dual sections because the single bits are covered by the fixed cameras.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Exactly, eg “we’ve caught 20% more people by doubling the number of vans and hours on the dual carriage way sections”

Actually equates to a reduction of ~70% on a per hour basis...

In reply to estivoautumnal:

The dualled sections of the A9 aren't "averaged" EXCEPT the section between Perth & Dunblane. Once you're past Dunblane on the way south it's the usual free for all.

Remember (vaguely) some rather ridiculous early morning journey times when heading up north. Not that I was driving of course as sleeping was always preferred to being behind the wheel.

In reply to estivoautumnal:

The details are available in the resources>publications section of http://a9road.info/.

fwiw I've been driving the Perth-Inverness section every few weeks for many years and definitely find it takes longer than before the cameras were switched on. Appendix E of the latest report confirms I'm not imagining this. But driving the road has definitely become less stressful, and there's been a welcome reduction in serious accidents.