How Scotland's solar speed cameras have failed… due to a lack of SUN! trends now
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They were envisaged as a simple, yet effective way of letting drivers know when they were speeding.
However, radar speed signs – famous for their alternating happy or angry faces – are being rendered useless in Scotland due to budgetary constraints and the country’s cloudy skies.
A Mail on Sunday investigation shows some cash-strapped councils have abandoned the network of signs, with many left broken and others unchecked for as long as five years.
In the Borders, the local council admits it has been forced to replace solar-powered units which have failed due to a lack of sunlight and the gloomy conditions in Scotland.
Many of Scotland's solar powered speed cameras are inoperative due to a lack of sunlight
In another local authority area, East Renfrewshire, 65 per cent of speed signs are no longer working and there is no budget to replace them. In North Ayrshire, 75 per cent of the signs are not in operation.
The disclosure is a major embarrassment for the Scottish Government, which says it hopes to have ‘the best road safety performance in the world’ in six years’ time.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said the signs have a part to play in creating safer streets. He added: ‘In the effort to eliminate road deaths, we need to use all the tools available to help reach that
