Sneaky speed camera north of Forth Road Bridge

[Edinburger]

I've noticed traffic police with hand held speed cameras a few times recently, on the M90 immediately off the north side of the Forth Road Bridge so in the layby on the left targeting north-bound traffic.

That seems incredibly sneaky to me on the basis that on a calm day virtually no one sticks to 50mph (the bridge's limit).

I thought they had to target areas with accident records and where a proportion of those accidents were attributed to excessive speed? Or is this just Police Scotland out to raise funds at the expense of the average motorist.

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boardinscotland said:

They have been doing this for a while. Have seen them on numerous occasions. (I live very close to there).

My friend got caught by them a few months ago and as you say they are very hard to see.

G

Any idea what the justification for that spot is? I've never known of accidents there?

Or is it just to help hit targets / raise funds because they know that misr traffic flow automatically exceeds 50mph almost all the time?

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ModernAndy said:

Well... (Preparing to get shot down in flames here)

Firstly, I believe there have been a fair few (thankfully non-fatal) accidents on the FRB but also they've been stalking cars from the layby there for years. If you're going to speed then make sure you're doing an acceptable speed for the last bit of the bridge and you've nothing to worry about. Also, I've seen the odd copper waiting up at the top of the hill just round the corner where it's still a 50mph zone but half the traffic does 70 so beware of that too,

Andy, there may have been a few accidents on the bridge itself over it's history but I'm not aware of any on the northbound exit lanes, but te point is that the majority of drivers quite rightly prepare for the faster limit on the M90 when they're leaving the bridge and so positioning this speed trap there just reeks of revenue raising - not road safety.

If it were about road safety then why not have it on the A985 (the road to Kincardine Bridge from Dunfermline)? That's a dangerous road in places. But hang on, less cars = less speeding = less revenue.

If the police want credibility for their speed traps then place them in appropriate places. Built up areas, by schools, A roads with accident history, etc. Not motorways and certainly not hiding in a layby.

O/T I was overtaken by a speed camera van on the M8 a few months ago just west of Glasgow, I'd estimate he was doing 65-70 in a 50.

[Edinburger]

ModernAndy said:

Edinburger said:

Andy, there may have been a few accidents on the bridge itself over it's history but I'm not aware of any on the northbound exit lanes, but te point is that the majority of drivers quite rightly prepare for the faster limit on the M90 when they're leaving the bridge and so positioning this speed trap there just reeks of revenue raising - not road safety.

If it were about road safety then why not have it on the A985 (the road to Kincardine Bridge from Dunfermline)? That's a dangerous road in places. But hang on, less cars = less speeding = less revenue.

If the police want credibility for their speed traps then place them in appropriate places. Built up areas, by schools, A roads with accident history, etc. Not motorways and certainly not hiding in a layby.

O/T I was overtaken by a speed camera van on the M8 a few months ago just west of Glasgow, I'd estimate he was doing 65-70 in a 50.

I certainly don't remember any accidents up to the north either apart from seeing one idiot doing something stupid which resulted in them hitting the concrete wall but this wasn't reported as far as I'm aware and another just past where it becomes a 70 where some idiot managed to do a very dramatic spin in the wet. The 70 zone is a good mile or so away from the end of the bridge though and I'm not sure it's quite right as you say to do 70 in a 50 where there's lots of lane changes going on ahead due to lorries needing to escape the layby and cars slowing down for the next exit.

I very rarely speed and if I do I make sure it's not near anybody else so I'm not too worried about where the police put cameras and if I get caught on those rare occasions I will be annoyed but certainly wouldn't blame the police for catching me.

If I had to say something positive about the positioning of police cameras; strategically, it makes more sense to have the element of surprise as it will hopefully slow down speeders everywhere and not just at the points that there's likely to be cameras.

That's true - look at the fixed cameras in the underpass beneath Newbridge. Virtually every single vehicle slows to 50mph as they pass those.

But, I've never seen or known of an accident on the M90 just off the FRB. I was very aware that all traffic was over 50mph when Plod's head appeared probably catching me and others and the sneakiness of the position annoyed me.

As I say, get on built up areas, A roads, outside schools, etc.

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Lil'RedGTO said:

How depressing. I realise they are there to protect roadside workers but what was wrong with people just using common sense and slowing down when they actually see construction workers by the roadside?

Feels like it is game over for "making progress" in Scotland at the moment. What with councils dropping limits, average speed cameras proliferating, speed traps at ostensibly "safe" places, 20mph limits in Edinburgh, and now it’s not just the police but your neighbour you need to look out for as they shop you for being flashed by speed indicator display signs.

Time to admit defeat and get a Kia Piccanto like everyone else?

If the cameras are there to protect roadside workers then, err..., aren't they installing them on the wrong bridge?!

It would no surprise if the new bridge hasd cameras installed from day one but I don't understand why they're putting them on the old bridge. Perhaps that police camera I saw was monitoring average speeds...?!

The new bridge will have wind protection to reduce the impact of wind on all bridge users (i.e. when they reduce the speed limits/ban certain vechicles) so I wouldn't expect it to have a reduced limit when it's windy - but we'll see.

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Mojocvh said:

Thanks for finally confirming what I suspected off you.

Why do you think the structure, suspended by wire ropes, over the Forth has a speed limit?

Go on, think about it.

What you suspected of me? You know nothing about me.

Cross the FRB five times each way and tell me how many vehicles are below 50mph. Across all Greater London bridges, 85% of traffic exceeds the limit.

Why is that? Go on, think about it.