A senior Tayside police officer has apologised for a non-urgent operation which left drivers facing 20 minute tailbacks on the A90 near Dundee.
The operation, which was supposed to take place between 9.30am and 4pm on June 24, was called off early after causing disruption on the dual carriageway near Bullionfield service station.
Drivers were left facing queues on their way into the city after a 30mph speed limit was imposed on part of the road and one lane was closed.
Following the disruption, Councillor Alasdair Bailey contacted police to ask question the timing of the operation.
Police boss apologises for tailbacks on A90
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams has now responded to the councillor, apologising for the operation’s poor timing.
He wrote: “On 24 June, a multi-agency checkpoint was arranged on the A90 Perth to Dundee road near to the Swallow roundabout, Dundee to facilitate an operation focussing on commercial vehicles.
“This checkpoint is a new location for these checks.
“The operation was scheduled to run between 9.30am and 4pm, the rationale being to ensure peak time traffic disruption was kept to a minimum.
“Throughout the operation the traffic was continually monitored and at 1pm, given the unprecedented volume of traffic, the decision was made to remove the checkpoint to allow traffic flow to return to normality.”
It was never the intention of those involved in the operation to cause any disruption and I would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams
The day the checkpoint was set up was on a Friday when there are often more cars on the road in the afternoon.
ACC Williams said there will be no further similar operations on the same stretch of the A90.
He said: “I fully recognise your concerns regarding the queuing traffic volume and the impact this had on commuters and other road users. Having reviewed the circumstances of this deployment, the volume of traffic should not have been allowed to build up to the levels seen.
“It was never the intention of those involved in the operation to cause any disruption and I would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.
“I can advise that at this time no plans will be made to run a similar operation at this location.”
Councillor ‘welcomes’ police response
A total of 58 commercial vehicles were pulled over during the operation, with multiple offences being detected.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) were also involved, however the operation was led by police.
Mr Bailey said: “I welcome the Assistant Chief Constable’s response and his acknowledgement that the checkpoint should not have resulted in the levels of traffic disruption that we saw on June 24.
“I thank him for taking the concerns of local people onboard given how tough a job Police Scotland have on their hands at the best of times.”
