Snow peephole driver stopped by police on A9

A driver on the A9 trunk road at Thurso in Caithness on Tuesday morning was stopped by police after their snow-covered car was spotted with just a small patch of the windscreen cleared.

The driver was given a fixed penalty notice.

A police spokesman said: "Winter has been biting for most of us this week, which means it is more important than ever that your vehicle is suitably prepared for the roads.

"Unfortunately not everyone follows this advice."

Images: Police Scotland

Speeding in Scotland Soared by Almost 40 per cent

THE number of drivers caught speeding in Scotland has soared by almost 40 per cent – well over the police’s target of a ten per cent increase.

A report by official watchdog HM Inspector of Constabulary revealed the figures and called for a return to officer “discretion” rather than a targets culture.

The report revealed a rise of 37 per cent in speeding offenses in the last nine months of 2013 compared to the same period the previous year, from 47,825 to 65,424. and revealed that officers were under pressure to pursue the “soft target” of speeding motorists.

Scottish Tory transport spokesman Alex Johnstone said: “It’s clear the targets culture for driving offences has taken priority and that can only come at the expense of the overall quality of policing.”

Police said no individual targets were set for officers, but activity was focused on areas of greatest risk.

Average Speed A9 Cameras Already Curbing Drivers Before Switch On

One of Scotland's most notorious roads - the A9 has newly installed cameras that are not due to be switched on till October, however they are already helping to cut down on the number of speeding drivers. The number of motorists speeding on the Perth to Pitlochry stretch of the A9 has fallen from one in three to one in ten

The busy single carriageways statistics for fatal and serious road accidents are significantly higher than the national average. Installation of the cameras from Perth to Inverness began just last month, and the scheme is just one of a number of planned measures to improve safety on the main route connecting central Scotland with the Highlands by the A9 Safety Group. They are also trying to encourage safe overtaking on the route and improve driver awareness of speed limits.

Mike Burns, who is a spokesman for campaign group A9 Average Speed Cameras Are Not the Answer, said: "The SNP and Transport Scotland are deluding themselves that slowing down a road is a solution to resolving frustration and preventing overtaking where overtaking is the root cause of over 50% accidents.”

A petition calling for the average-speed camera scheme to be scrapped was recently dropped by the public petitions committee. The Scottish Government group decided nothing more could be done as the cameras are already in place.

The Scottish Government plans to create 80 miles of dual carriageway between Perth and Inverness by 2025.

Sources: STV News