Case studies
Winner: The Highways Awards – Road Safety Scheme of the Year 2017
Clearview Intelligence provided vehicle count and classification with variable speed awareness and vehicle activated signs (VAS) across six locations on the A75 Stranraer to Gretna Green to encourage speed compliance and change driver behaviour.
The A75 Stranraer to Gretna Green road is the main route from northern England to the ferry port servicing Northern Ireland. Consequently, traffic tends to come in waves; it will be heavy when a ferry has just been unloaded, but the rest of the time it can be very quiet.
With over 1.5m vehicles using the A75 each year (200,000 plus are Heavy Goods Vehicles) the aim for Transport Scotland is to ensure safe passage not only for drivers of the vehicles, but also to have in place measures to ensure safety for the pedestrians of the towns and villages along its route.
In November 2016, Transport Scotland commissioned Clearview Intelligence to conduct speed surveys at twelve locations along the A75 from Stranraer to Gretna Green.
The surveys highlighted a recurring problem along the length of the A75 with the 85th percentile speed being unacceptably high, most notably with HGV’s. Scotland TranServ, as the road operator, wished to put in place a solution that would encourage speed compliance and change driver behaviour.
Scotland TranServ engaged with Clearview Intelligence to help define an operational solution that could be replicated across the length of the A75 to encourage a reduction in overall traffic speed. However, the road has differing speed limits according to vehicle classification, so the solution also needed to specifically recognise instances of speeding per vehicle type.
Due to the length and rural location of the A75, the road infrastructure only allows for permanent power supply in places where it passes through towns and villages, or at major intersections. The speeding vehicle problem is not confined to these sections and so any solution had to work without mains power.
Clearview put in place a solar powered vehicle count and classify solution in six locations. By combining vehicle classification with identification of vehicles travelling above the speed limit, this allows vehicle activated signs to show the appropriate speed limit warning according to vehicle type.
This kind of vehicle activated, dynamic speed warning system serves as a highly visible and immediate reminder to drivers to monitor and manage their speeds appropriate to their vehicle type and it is a first of its kind in the UK.
In recognition of the innovative nature of the scheme it has won the prestigious Highways Awards – Road Safety Scheme of the Year 2017.
Clearview Intelligence and Scotland TranServ have a strong track record of partnership working to improve road safety, so when we were looking to tackle the issue of encouraging speed compliance on the A75, we were confident that they could help us to deliver an effective and robust solution. The final design is replicable and can be deployed in a variety of locations, even in the absence of mains power in remote areas.
Vincent Tait
Road Safety Manager
Scotland TranServ
Case studies
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