Highland Council rolls out fake speed bumps 11 sites in Inverness, Wick, Nairn, Beauly, North Kessock, Kirkhill, Kyleakin, Halkirk, and Mallaig
Fake speed bumps which locals ridiculed after being installed on an Inverness street are being rolled out to another 10 Highland locations - at a cost of £40,000.
Highland Council has confirmed that the fake speed bumps - painted two-dimensional road markings that are designed to create the false illusion that they’re raised 3D obstructions - will be piloted in numerous communities’ 20mph zones where average driver speeds are “higher than desired”.
The idea behind the fake speed bumps is to create the false impression that there’s an obstacle ahead which requires a vehicle to slow down. In theory this should then lead to lower average speeds among passing vehicles, improving safety for motorists and pedestrians at a fraction of the cost of installing the bumps for real.
However, critics have argued that local motorists will swiftly catch on that there’s no obstacle there and that they will prove ineffectual on routes used predominantly by residents.
And that concern was shared by some in Culloden following the introduction of the very first fake speed bumps on Ferntower Avenue last month.
Speaking at the time, one local resident said: “Drivers are speeding through them continuously. If you observed the road just for 10 minutes you would definitely see lots of drivers speeding and definitely doing more than permitted limit of 20mph.”
Culloden and Ardersier ward councillor Trish Robertson also shared that scepticism. adding: “It is just locals and buses using that road. You’ve not got many visitors up there, so it doesn’t sound like it’s the answer - locals will just get used to it.”
However, despite those concerns, Highland Council has since confirmed that it has secured £40,000 in funding from Transport Scotland to roll out fake speed bump markings at 10 other locations dotted across the region.
These include two further streets in Inverness - Moray Park Avenue and Drummond Road - as well as North Kessock (Millbank Road), Nairn (Lochloy Road), Beauly (Station Road), and the B9164 at Kirkhill.
Other Highland sites include East Bay in Mallaig, Kyleside in Kyleakin, Bridge Street in Halkirk and Thurso Road in Wick.
Confirming the sites, a Highland Council spokesperson said: “The new markings will be piloted in nine locations throughout the Highlands where data showed higher than desired average speed results in areas where a 20mph limit had been implemented. The materials and installation of the markings cost approx. £40,000 which is covered by funding from Transport Scotland and is significantly less than physical traffic calming features would be for these pilot locations. This pilot will allow us to trial and investigate the effectiveness of these new 3D road markings as a potential alternative to physical traffic calming measures on our road network.”
The spokesperson added that the pilot, which runs until the end of 2026. was being funded centrally by Transport Scotland, and did not involve Highland Council taxpayers’ funds.
They also said they would be studying motoring data at each site during the pilot to gauge their effectiveness, adding: “The funding for this year-long pilot has come from Transport Scotland as part of the 20mph programme. Like all of our initiatives, the primary goal is to reduce collisions and enhance active travel by improving road safety within local communities.
“We will be monitoring the speed limits on the roads before and after these markings have been implemented, to assess the pilot’s effectiveness. However, the full impact won't be clear until long-term speed data has been collected.
“Once the analysis is complete, the findings will be published online. The areas selected for the pilot have been carefully chosen for their potential to benefit most from the reinforcement of the 20mph speed limit.”
