POLICE Scotland have unveiled their latest weapon for tackling speeding drivers.

For cops on motorbikes now have a special camera bike amongst their fleet which allows them to catch speeding motorists in areas they previously couldn’t.

The ‘camera bike’ is the only one within Police Scotland and was brought into the force last autumn.

With many bikers now bringing their machines out of storage this weekend, this will be the first full season that the ‘camera bike’ is deployed across Scotland.

Police Scotlands showed off the hi-tech bike yesterday as they launched their annual Motorcycle Safety Campaign at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow.

The campaign will run from now until autumn, and Police Scotland’s top road cop says he will deploy it across the country in a bid to get speeding motorists.

Chief Superintendent Andy Edmonston said: “The advantage of the motorcycle that has the camera equipment available is that we can take that to areas where we can’t deploy the traditional speed camera vans. That gives us the flexibility to analyse areas where we think there is a speeding problem or collision history.

“It is early days in terms of deploying this piece of equipment on a motorcycle but the early indications are the officers do appreciate the flexibility of it and with the markings on the bike, they have a presence at the side of the road.”

Currently the force has no plans to acquire more ‘camera bikes’ but it is something that will be considered in the future.

Chief Superintendent Andy Edmonston said: “We need to understand how beneficial this piece of kit becomes for us. “What we intend to do is use the motorcycle and camera around Scotland whenever we sense a need for it.

“We will take stock after that and understand the benefits it brings. We think it will bring benefits in the future, and arguably we will look to invest more money.”

The launch was supported by Transport Minister Humza Yousaf, who examined the ‘camera bike’.

He said: “We would encourage motorcyclists to keep safe throughout the season, ride appropriately for the conditions, and be particularly careful when overtaking or negotiating left-hand bends.”

As part of the campaign, Police Scotland will run seven special ‘Weekends of Action’, with the first beginning this weekend when road policing officers will be out on the roads, engaging with road users and encouraging motorcyclists to stay safe.

They will be engaging with bikers to ensure their machines have been properly maintained over the winter and are fit for use, with MOT and insurance cover in place; and assisting riders with guidance and advice on brushing up on skills which will inevitably have faded over the winter.

Police Scotland say where offences are committed, they will enforce the law and will not hesitate to pull over anyone who is driving in an irresponsible, anti-social, erratic or illegal manner to keep road users as safe as possible.