Why is the A9 so dangerous and what do motorists need to be aware of?
As a frequent visitor to Digby Brown’s Inverness office and someone who travels on the A9 to get there, I was interested to see that Police Scotland recently issued a stark reminder to motorists about the dangers posed to users of the A9 road (the main arterial route connecting the Highlands to the central belt of Scotland) and highlighting the tragic deaths of 30 people in their last reporting period.
It hit home to me again that this isn’t just a statistic of course.
This is 30 families whose lives have been utterly devastated following a fatal road traffic accident.
At Digby Brown, we have first hand experience in helping people and extended families who have been affected by collisions on the A9 and surrounding regions. So what is it about this road that makes it so dangerous? And what is it that motorists need to be mindful of?
Speed limit confusion
The speed limit on the single carriageway sections of the A9 is 60mph for cars and motorcycles, with average speed cameras in place. That increases to 70mph on dual carriageway sections. However, other vehicles including Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and cars that are towing, are bound to a speed limit of 50 miles per hour.
It’s reported that HGVs are involved in nearly a quarter of the accidents on single carriageway sections and are nearly 3 times more likely to be involved in an accident on the A9 than they are on any other Scottish trunk road.
The differing speed limits can lead to frustration for drivers who are caught behind slower moving vehicles and unfortunately this leads to overtaking in situations where it’s unsafe to do so:
- 35% of all fatal accidents on the road are related to overtaking
- 63% of fatal accidents are head on accidents
‘Responsibility lies with drivers’
It's difficult to argue that the dualling of the road would not significantly increase the safety of the road and – whilst Police Scotland accept that dualling of the road would be helpful – they have also reiterated that responsibility remains on drivers to understand the road and to drive safely to prevailing road conditions.
Tiredness is also a factor. With the road being Scotland’s longest, it has been highlighted by the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland, that fatigue is a serious issue and good planning, regular breaks and stopping to have a coffee can combat this.
Whilst this is good advice for any motorist embarking on a long journey, the A9 from Perth to Inverness is not blessed with many service stations, making this a less viable option on that particular stretch of road.
Another significant factor is undoubtedly the use of the road by those unfamiliar with it. That would include a significant number of tourists with the road being the main arterial route connecting central Scotland to the Highlands.
Future Plans?
A Scottish Government and Transport Scotland commitment to upgrade 80 miles of the A9 from single to dual carriageway by 2025 has been revised via a ministerial statement issued earlier this month, with that announcement being met with understandable and widespread adverse comment in the media and from interested groups.
An update is due by Autumn 2023 – hopefully to reaffirm the commitment and to put a revised timescale around that - but at the time of writing, only a further 12.5 miles of dual carriageway have been opened. The completion target of 2025 has now been dropped by the Government and the expected further delays have been determined as “totally unacceptable” by Neil Greig of the IAM RoadSmart motoring group.
At Digby Brown, we would echo the comments of IAM RoadSmart that the planned dualling needs to take place sooner rather than later to make this stretch of road safer for the motorists of Scotland. The Scottish Government needs to prioritise the planned works and issue a revised timetable for completion they can commit to as soon as possible.
We see all too often the devastating impact of road traffic accidents on the A9 on accident victims and the families they leave behind where those accidents have fatal outcomes.
* This blog follows an Inverness Courier news story: https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/police-report-underlines-dangers-of-a9-and-north-roads-to-mo-304185/
Brian Castle, Partner and Scottish Regional Co-Ordinator & Committee Member of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS)
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