NOTEBOOK by BILL HEANEY

I recently asked the question: Where have all the police cars gone? Do the police in West Dunbartonshire still have a Traffic Department?

The only time I had seen a policeman up close and giving it “just pull in there, sir, and step out of the car” was when I was “done” for not having an MOT.

My car had not been on the road because I was off work ill during Covid and my MOT was out of date by a day or two.

I was on the A82 en route to the garage in Townend Road to have it renewed when I received the Traffic Department equivalent of a tap on the shoulder.

It cost me an on-the-spot fine of £100. I deserved it. I should have known better.

That was in my thinking this week when I was covering matters in relation to the policing of Scotland’s roads.

It wasn’t out of spite that I thought about having a go at the modern day versions of the Ricky Fulton’s Hogmanay character Supercop.

It was the fact that I had been held up and diverted so many times on my way to and from Glasgow by one accident after another.

My reaction to that was a long way off road rage, but I wasn’t pleased about it.

The police will have a record of these accidents and they most certainly won’t have forgotten about the one when one of their number was knocked down and injured while attending an accident at Dunglass Roundabout. I hope he’s recovered since then.

At Holyrood on Thursday, Green MSP Mark Ruskell asked the Scottish Government what its response was to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s latest report on road policing.

Naturally, my ears cocked open. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance, told him: “My thoughts are with all those who have been affected by road deaths. I am grateful to HMICS for producing its report.

CONSTANCE ANGELA JUSTICE SECRETARY.webp 6

Justice Secretary Angela Constance, a seldom seen traffic car and Chief Constable Jo Farrell.

“Although it is for the Chief Constable [Jo Farrell] to determine how to allocate her resources, I welcome the confirmation that the service is already taking action to address the issues that have been raised, including the identification and implementation of a sustainable model for road policing.”

Mark Ruskell, who represents the Borders [Jim Clark of F1 fame country], told her: “It is quite clear that speed kills, and that communities across Scotland are fed up with dangerous speeding that goes undetected, unenforced and unpunished by the police and the courts.

“That is a rural problem but it is also an urban problem. Does the cabinet secretary believe that it is time to devolve responsibility for speed enforcement to councils, allowing communities to control dangerous speeding and creating a much-needed source of revenue to invest in safer streets?”

Angela Constance replied: “In terms of investment, I assure the member that road safety is a priority for the Scottish Government and Police Scotland, which is why we are investing a record £36 million this year to deliver initiatives that are aimed at improving driver behaviour and, ultimately, helping to reduce the number of casualties on our roads.

“The member may also be aware of the new digital evidence-sharing capability system, which will enable members of the public to upload footage from mobile devices or computers, making it easier to share evidence, allowing swifter access to justice and helping cases to be resolved more quickly.”

It won’t surprise you one bit to know that I didn’t know a thing about this — and most probably neither did you.

And the dire standard of driving through Dumbarton and up the Alexandria by-pass on the A82 Glasgow-Loch Lomondside road is proof positive of that.

I refer you to the broken traffic lights, the road closures because of the filth and rainwater pouring down from Dumbuck Quarry on to the road and pavements that West Dunbartonshire Council would have had small children walk along to school, and the number of access and exits along past the Arnold Clark garage.

Then there’s the blind turn at the SPCA home at Milton, the “waiting to die” U-turns at the foot of Milton Hill, the number of accidents and near misses and the incredibly dangerous business of loading cars on to huge transporters at Clark’s, not to mention drivers coming and going from the Esso filling station, the Indian restaurant and the coffee shop on one side of the road and M&S on the other.

And what are Police Scotland, West Dunbartonshire Council, Amey, the Scottish Government and all the others doing about it?

Last night I was dismayed to see that the contractors had opened up an access/egress gap in the fence just past the bus stop and on to the slip lane for Dumbarton East and Helensburgh. That’s for the pie in the sky City/Region deal industrial estate project on the polluted Esso site. Put the kettle on for the next serious access there.

It’s enough to turn Angela Constance’s hair purple and for Chief Constable Jo Farrell to ignore the taxis that would take her on a weekend away to her home in Durham and have an in-depth look at the traffic situation here.

And where is one-time councillor Geordie Black when we all need him?

Top of page picture is of the “killer” A82 road heading towards Glasgow.