‘The speeds they are going at are unreal,’ say Forss couple as they back road safety campaign
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A retired couple have told of their concerns over the "crazy" driving they often witness outside their home alongside the Forss straight.
"The speeds they are going at are unreal," John Ross said, while his wife Anne admitted: "It is very worrying."
The couple, who live in School Place, adjacent to the A836, support the recently formed Forss Campaign Group and are confident it can achieve road safety improvements.
The group is seeking a reduced speed limit and other traffic-calming measures on the route, which is used by motorists travelling to and from Dounreay and Vulcan.
“They can't seem to get home quick enough – I don't know what the panic is," Mr Ross (68) said.
“The cars are more powerful now than in the early days. Before, there used to be a lot of Dounreay buses on this road – there's not a fraction of the buses now that there used to be, and more and more people are taking cars.
“They're mad for speed. They're crazy.
“You can set your watch by them. A lot of the Vulcan fellows finish on a Friday at three o'clock.
“It's not everyone, but it's a certain number. You don't know what you're meeting coming towards you sometimes.
"You've got to see it to believe it.”
Mr Ross highlighted a survey carried out by Highland Council from July 9-17 last year revealing that 89 vehicles a day passed through Forss at speeds in excess of 70 mph. The village is currently subject to a 60 mph limit.
“It was unbelievable, some of the speeds they were going at," he said. "It might not all be Dounreay cars, it could be North Coast 500 cars, but it's down to speed – the speeds they are going at are unreal.
"It's mental. And if you look at it, they're only in Thurso a minute in front of you. What are they gaining?
“You go into Thurso and they're just a couple of cars in front of you.”
Mr Ross pointed to another potentially hazardous area near the bottom end of the Forss straight, at its junction with the road to Lythmore.
“If you come down that road to the crossroads in the summertime, in the trees it's very dark – it's very hard to see a car coming from the west if they're going at speed coming up that road," he said.
“A lot of cars now have got automatic lights that come on when it's dark, but a lot of them don't. If they come up there fast, it's very hard to spot them.
“And if you're going right from that crossroads, when they're coming down the road from Thurso there's a slight dip. If you're not careful, they're on top of you before you realise it. That road is not dead flat.”
Mr Ross, who has lived at Forss for 46 years, instigated a petition in 2013 with support from local resident Julie Minchin. The petition attracted around 300 signatures calling for a reduction in the speed limit.
The Forss straight is part of the North Coast 500 and Mr Ross says he has witnessed supercars travelling at excessive speeds on the route.
“They seem to go in bunches, these sporty cars," he said. "You might get four or five together.
"They have no thought for us. They are there to get from 'A' to 'B' as quickly as possible.
"They're not seeing the scenery – it's just speed. You see a flash and that's them going past. They're mad, the majority of them.”
Mr Ross is a former Dounreay worker who was employed at JGC before retiring two years ago, while Mrs Ross (64) was a post office counter assistant before she retired at the same time.
“When I used to go off in the mornings, it was a nightmare," she recalled.
"They were going to work and they were in such a rush to get there – I don't know why.
"It was terrible. I couldn't see the cars coming down the road and it was taking my life in my hands trying to get out in the mornings."
The problem has become worse in recent years, according to Mrs Ross.
“An awful lot of them have got very high-powered cars," she said. "It is very worrying. Everybody speaks about it.”
Forss Campaign Group organised an hour-long site visit at the Forss straight on Monday of last week attended by Highland councillors, community councillors and roads officials as well as Dounreay's managing director. Afterwards, campaigner Iain Gregory described some of the driver behaviour he saw as "downright insanity" and "beyond belief".
Mr and Mrs Ross are pleased with the way the campaign group is tackling the issue.
“They're very good – they are trying to do something for us," Mr Ross said. "We're hopeful that something is going to come out of it, even if we just get double white lines for no overtaking.”
Asked whether she felt the group would achieve its aims, Mrs Ross replied: “I hope so. I think there should be no overtaking. That would help us.
“I don't think they would adhere to a 50 mph limit – they don't do it for 60 mph. But I think no overtaking would help a lot.”
Related stories:
- Road safety campaigner condemns 'downright insanity' of some drivers after Forss site visit
- Speed camera checks stepped up at Forss as councillor tells of 'appalling' incidents
- Lives being put at risk by 'people driving like idiots' on Forss stretch of A836
- Speeding drivers creating 'intolerable' and 'unacceptable' situation for Forss residents
- Dounreay has a duty to be 'part of the solution' to Forss road safety concerns
