More flexibility will let officers better police Scottish roads POLICE will be more visible on trunk roads and motorway accident blackspots under plans to cut collisions when the new single force comes into effect. A national unit will cover major routes, while the 14 divisional commanders will be in charge of policing local roads, when Police Scotland launches in April. Although there will not be in an increase in road officer numbers - it stays at 591 constables - it is hoped more flexibility and the removal of force boundaries will allow them to increase police presence in the worst areas. Chief Constable Steve House also plans to end the practice of firearms officers doubling up as road traffic police, which currently happens in some areas, and allow them to focus solely on either specialism. "What this lets us do is make better use of the specialist resources that we've got in road policing," Mr House said. We've looked at how road policing across Scotland is resourced and we are changing that a little bit to focus on where we see casualty hotspots, to make sure we are putting the resources where they need to be. If you look at road safety and road policing, it's one of the biggest concerns that the public have, and they're quite right to because there was 176 fatalities last year on Scotland's roads, which is a much higher figure than homicide. Lots more people die on the road than are murdered. He also believes seeing a police vehicle on a road does more to change bad driving behaviour than a speed camera, which can only report it. The proposals also give an insight into the thinking of senior officers. Several specialisms are likely to include a national unit, in charge of establishing best practice, plus 14 divisional teams.