North-east Scotland roadworkers fitted with new body-worn video cameras to enhance safety

Amey roadworkers across north-east Scotland have been fitted with new body-worn video cameras to enhance their safety and capture high-quality video evidence.

The small, lightweight cameras, which are visibly fitted to an operative’s uniform, usually on the chest, will function as a visible deterrent and can be used to capture evidence of an incident and support investigations.

On behalf of Transport Scotland, Amey works to maintain and improve the driving conditions and durability of the network’s infrastructure to ensure it meets current and future demand.

The roadside is one of the most dangerous places to work in the UK and, as well as operating in a high risk environment, roadworkers carrying out essential maintenance are often faced with unacceptable personal abuse from drivers who are angry at having to wait extra minutes at roadworks.

Previous incidents have included road workers being spat at, verbally abused, having objects thrown at them and being physically attacked by road users.

The behaviour of frustrated motorists can also put roadworkers’ lives at risk, from vehicle incursions into zones reserved for workers, to drivers who speed or drive recklessly through roadworks with no respect for traffic control measures.

While Amey has policies and procedures in place to help manage these risks against road workers, the use of body-worn video cameras will provide an additional support mechanism.

Operating company representative for the North East NMC, Tom Wallace, said: “The new body-worn video cameras will function as a visible deterrent and act as an additional measure to enhance the safety of our operatives.

“Working on the roads is a dangerous environment which can be made even worse when mixed with abuse from the public and careless driving.

“We understand that roadworks can be frustrating for motorists, but the signs and traffic management are not there to try and delay people. They are vital to keeping our staff safe whilst we carry out essential road upgrades.”

A free Road Work Alerts service is available from the Amey website. An email address is required to sign up for the service.

To report a problem on the network visit: https://netrunkroads.scot/report-a-problem/.

Real-time journey information can be obtained by visiting the www.trafficscotland.org website.

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