Transport Minister Derek Mackay has said he was “very encouraged” by the impact of average speed cameras on the A9 but admitted accident rate figures would not be available until later this year.
He told MSPs yesterday that a longer period was required to evaluate safety performance on the Inverness to Dunblane stretch of the road covered by the £2.5million system.
Mr Mackay said a new report revealed that excessive speeding had been cut by 97%, leading to an eight-fold decrease in the number of people caught speeding since October – 298.
“Police Scotland, the Road Haulage Association and the Institute of Advanced Motorists, among others, have welcomed the figures,” he said.
“After only three months of average speed camera operation, police injury accident figures are not available.
“A longer period is required to evaluate safety performance – typically three years before and after in the case of road safety schemes.
“It is likely to be the third quarterly report before the first injury accident data can be reported on.”
Highland SNP MSP Dave Thompson urged the minister to join him in calling on critics like Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander to end their “reckless and now discredited campaign” to undermine the safety measures.
The Highland Westminster politician claims the changes did not go far enough and has vowed to continue to press the Scottish Government to dual the Inverness-Perth route.
Mr Alexander said: “The minister is reflecting exactly what I have said about the importance of taking a longer term view of the data.
“In his statement to parliament, the minister confirmed that we will not know for several years if the speed cameras have had a positive impact on safety, or have increased frustration and dangerous overtaking as feared by many of my constituents who use the road regularly.
“If only nationalist politicians had been as quick to dual the A9 as they have been about declaring the road safe.
“The failure of the SNP to dual a single foot of the road after seven years in office is a damning indictment of their attitude towards the Highlands.”
Mr Mackay said: “If Mr Alexander and others choose to ignore the evidence, it will be unfortunate for them if they are judged to be putting cheap political point scoring before the safety of their constituents.
“A reduction in the number of incidents and the disruption that is associated with them leads to better journey reliability, which supports the economy.”
Mr Mackay said the Road Haulage Association had reported that journey times had been cut by up to 30 minutes for HGVs.
He hinted that the speed limit for heavy goods vehicles could be increased to 50mph on other major roads in light of the success of the policy on the A9.
The minister said: “We will consider the issue closely.
“We will look at the evidence from the (A9) pilot and other work and judge what is appropriate for the rest of the country.”