Loch Lomond speed cameras removed after less than three months

The average speed cameras were erected in the summer between Luss and Tarbet on the A82 but were only temporary, said funder Transport Scotland. The government agency credited the technology with cutting the number of speeding drivers from an average of one in four, to one in 12. But they have confirmed the cameras have now been taken away and it is unknown if they will return next summer.

Roads bosses identified the scenic route and one in Thurso as having increased traffic volumes and speeding during the summer. In June they announced cameras would be erected, and they were live from September to December.

The four poles and cameras took two months to install and have now been removed, said Transport Scotland. They said final analysis from the trial is under way, with interim data showing "marked improvement in speed compliance".

And they said there were no reports of injury collisions throughout the period of "live enforcement". There is no data on the number of driving offences, they told the Advertiser. When asked where the cameras were being deployed over the winter, a spokesperson said consideration was "ongoing".

The cameras used solar and bio-methanol power to operate off-grid and were billed as allowing the technology to be "deployed at locations previously inaccessible for fixed infrastructure", said the joint Police Scotland and Scottish Safety Camera Programme effort. They went live on September 23. When they were announced, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "Road safety is one of the Scottish Government's top priorities and I remain resolute in my determination to save lives on the country's roads.

"The deployment of temporary average speed cameras on the A836 and A82 will help us achieve that. "Both locations see a significant rise in traffic over the summer months and persistent speeding cases. We have seen the success of average speed cameras on the A9 in terms of encouraging improved driver behaviour and are looking to replicate it on these routes.

"The new electric safety camera vans will replace older vehicles and help bolster the fleet, as well as our green credentials.

"Both the temporary average speed cameras and the safety camera vans will help us work towards our long-term vision of no-one being killed or seriously injured on Scotland's roads by 2050."

Transport Scotland did not reveal the cost of installing and removing the speed cameras.

References

^ Average speed cameras coming to A82 along Loch Lomondside this summer (www.helensburghadvertiser.co.uk)