Transport chiefs insisted that their decision to install average speed cameras along the A9 had been vindicated by official figures which show a dramatic reduction in speeding drivers.
The A9 Safety Group, which is chaired by Transport Scotland, revealed a snapshot of how the controversial £3million system had impacted on driver behaviour.
The data shows that fewer than 300 vehicles were caught speeding since the so-called yellow vultures went live in October, while the rate of overall speeders had been reduced from one in three drivers to one in 20.
But the numbers have failed to silence the scheme’s most outspoken critics.
Highland MP Danny Alexander accused the SNP of letting drivers down, while the campaign group A9 Average Speed Cameras Are Not the Answer insisted the scheme had done little to improve safety.
According to the official stats for the October-January period, examples of excessive speeding 10mph or more above the limit are down by nearly 100 per cent, while there was no evidence to suggest that drivers were using other roads to avoid the A9.
Police described the results as an “encouraging start” and said the cameras had undoubtedly made the A9 safer.
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