Number of total fines issued for past year revealed for A9 average speed cameras
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Police have refused to reveal the number of drivers caught speeding and fined by the average speed cameras on a section of the A9 where there have been a spate of fatal accidents since the summer.
The force has, however, provided the information – also requested under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 –for the entire road under the coverage.
It revealed that there were 1,522 detected speeding offences by the A9 cameras from October 26, last year to October 25, this year.
The number of fines issued by Safety Cameras Scotland for offences detected on the road over the same period was 727.
There appears to have have been a significant reduction in activity this past year going by figures supplied over a longer period.
There were 14,999 detected speeding offences by average speed cameras on the A9 from January 1, 2019 to October 25, this year.
The number of fines issued by Safety Cameras Scotland for this period was 10,059.
Police Scotland said data for the period prior to 2019 is no longer held by the force.
Highland News & Media requested the information following an unprecedented number of deaths on the A9 in such a short spell.
There were nine deaths on the 25-mile stretch of the road in Badenoch and Strathspey between July and mid October.
The force outlined its reasons for not revealing the information specifically for the strath in its response to the FoI.
Police bosses cited that the 'overwhelming public interest lies in maintaining the integrity of average speed cameras as an invaluable policing tool'.
They stated: "Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to prejudice substantially the prevention or detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
"This is a non-absolute exemption and requires the application of the public interest test.
"It is accepted that there is significant interest in policing tactics but it cannot be in the public interest to confirm whether or not information is held when to do so would render the use of such cameras ineffective.
"Moreover there is no public interest in the release of site specific information which is likely to lead to an increase in the number of speeding offences and reduce the likelihood of detection...
"Publication of offences detected at individual sites and locations would disclose the enforcement regime, enabling drivers to predict when a camera might not be live leading some to endanger public safety and break the law by speeding when the camera is believed to be inactive.
The force also pointed out that not all detected offences are issued with a fine. As an example, some offences are referred to the courts for prosecution and consequently the total number of fines issued is not held.
The highest detected speed on the A9 by average speed cameras from October 26, last year to October 25, this year, was 106mph and for the period from January 1, 2019, was 127mph.
Once again the police refused to provide the respective figures for the A9 in Badenoch and Strathspey.
Highland News & Media has appealed for a review of the FoI decision to try and get a further breakdown of the figures.
