A90 crash victim's family hail average speed camera launch

The family of an Aberdeen man who died in a crash on the A90 near Dundee are welcoming the switch-on of average speed cameras on the route.

Kieran Innes died in September 2016 – his name is just one of eleven killed in the last five years on the route, branded “Scotland’s most Dangerous road”.

Kieran’s brother Sean is backing today’s launch of average speed cameras. He said: "Kieran was a loveable rogue, you couldn't hate him.

"All we really know is that he was heading towards Forfar, he had passed his test three months earlier and he just loved going out for drives.

"The last thing anybody knew is that he was out with a couple of friends. He came home, got changed and went away.

"We've no idea how he crashed, whether something ran out or whether he was speeding, we just don't know.

"It was a straight part of the A90 so if he has lost control of the car we think something has run out or he's just had a little lapse of concentration where the wheel has went away from him.

"There are a lot of reckless drivers out there and I think with the speed cameras involved they might a bit more cautious."

More than three in five drivers on the route are speeding at some point.

Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf said:

“I have confidence that the average speed system, which is now operational on the 51.5 mile stretch of the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven, will help save lives. The evidence from other average speed systems across Scotland continues to demonstrate the various benefits these cameras will bring to drivers.

“I am aware that more than three in every five vehicles between Dundee and Stonehaven are speeding with one in five exceeding by over 10mph. While the previous strategy of fixed cameras and mobile enforcement saw casualties reduce at a number of camera locations across the route, average speed cameras will help to make the A90 safer for all road users.

“The Scottish Government is committed, through Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020, to achieving safer road travel and working towards an ultimate vision of zero fatalities and reducing the number of serious injuries on our roads. Six people have lost their life on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven since 2014. Any death on our roads is one too many, and I look forward to seeing similar results on the A90 as we’ve seen on the A77 and A9 in reducing casualties and improving driver behaviour.”

John Pritchard, lead paramedic with Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance admitted it can be difficult to not get emotionally involved during call-outs.

He said: "We train for these accidents, but they still take a toll on you and when we see accidents happen, we always wonder how it could've been different.

"You do switch into your role and you separate yourself but obviously it does have an impact.

"Everybody's human, we are all there to treat patients but we all have that human contact"