The Cat and Fiddle route, one of Britain’s most celebrated driving roads, is set to be neutered by average speed cameras.
The route, which runs between Buxton and Macclesfield on the A537 and A54, has long been a favourite route for enthusiastic drivers and riders alike. But now the road is set to be monitored by average speed cameras.
The road has already suffered a speed limit cut from the national 60mph limit down to 50mph, and now Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership, Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership and the Department for Transport are due to install seven average speed cameras along the 12-mile stretch of road.
Part of the problem, we’re told, is that the road has often been dubbed ‘Britain’s most dangerous road’ due to the high numbers of casualties along its length. In fact, EuroRAP, the European Road Assessment Programme that
recently branded two thirds of the UK’s A-roads as dangerous
, specifically identifies the Cat and Fiddle road as a serious problem.
We understand the need for road deaths and injuries to be minimised, but to sprinkle the Cat and Fiddle with SPECS cameras smacks a little bit of PR spin to us – after all the road is probably as close to having celebrity status as a stretch of public Tarmac can get.
And as for what the cameras will do for business at the Cat and Fiddle pub part-way along the road, known both as a Mecca for drivers and bikers as well as for being the second highest pub in England, we dread to think…