A9 Claims yet more lives

[SMEE]

So sad...the A9 has claimed another at least 2 lives this afternoon. A lorry driver and his passenger were killed in a head on smash with a Bus, carrying people from Edinburgh to Rockness.

I maintain tho...its not a bad road, its the idiots on the road that are the problem. Everytime im travelling on it....i see a handfull of completely dangerous instances of driving. Where i would love to see it dualled, i would say the A96 is in far more need of being upgraded

Edited June 8, 2012 by SMEE

[bauhaus]

Sad indeed, I drive up to 75,000 miles a year on Highland roads, seen a huge number of accidents over the last 25 years, been hit head on 4 times, and all by tourists on the wrong side. A9, A96 and A82 all need improved. A9 AND A96 should be dual all the way. How many lives does it take before we get a Dual Carriageway, if this was south of Englandshire it would have been done 30 years ago

[SMEE]

Well....in 13 years time....A9 south will be dualled....but probably no hope in hell of the A96 seeing the same any time soon. The Central based Govt will be handing over the money for the A9 thro gritted teeth...and will be very much grudged. I really cant imagine that amount being spent again up this way, not within the next 50 years. It will be all their centralised pet projects that sees the money

[bauhaus]

What you really mean is if it was Labour, Lib Dems or the Torries ( like they will ever get into power in Scotland ) it would never have been announced. SNP are doing more for the whole of Scotland, remember Trams were Labours folly

[+DoofersDad]

Of course it is sad when fatalities like this occur but the reality is that the A9 is not a particularly dangerous road when you look at the stats. The road safety foundation regularly reviews road safety and rates roads based on the number vehicles using the road and the number of fatalities relative to that. On that basis, both the A9 (south of the Ord) and the A96 are rated as low to medium risk. The only 2 roads rated as high risk in Highland are the A833 between Drum and Beauly and the A86 between Laggan and Spean bridge.

The 10 most dangerous roads in the UK are all in England and mostly in the pennine area and if you have ever driven on some of those you will realise what a pleasure it is to coast along on the A96. The statistics clearly show that dualing roads significantly increases their safety and so it makes sense to do this. But when you look at the stats more generally the reality is that the dualing of these important trunk routes is unlikely to be seen as top priority from a road safety perspective. It makes more sense to look at specific sections where accidents are more common and campaign for road safety improvements to address these identified black spots. The argument for more extensive dualing is more a journey time issue than a road safety one.

[SMEE]

Of course it is sad when fatalities like this occur but the reality is that the A9 is not a particularly dangerous road when you look at the stats.

Last i heard, the A9 claims the most lives of any road in Scotland. So its dangerous enough. http://www.pressandj...cle.aspx/595631

(after some research, A9 is every bit as lethal as Englands worst road for fatalities,, the difference being, Englands worst road isnt a main arterial route...unlike the A9)

And i doubt theres a road as bad as the A96 connecting any two of Englands biggest cities.

Edited June 8, 2012 by SMEE

[PullMyFinger]

Sad indeed, I drive up to 75,000 miles a year on Highland roads, seen a huge number of accidents over the last 25 years, been hit head on 4 times, and all by tourists on the wrong side. A9, A96 and A82 all need improved. A9 AND A96 should be dual all the way. How many lives does it take before we get a Dual Carriageway, if this was south of Englandshire it would have been done 30 years ago

If this was the south of England it would be a less pleasant place to live. Weather excepted of course.

Well....in 13 years time....A9 south will be dualled....but probably no hope in hell of the A96 seeing the same any time soon. The Central based Govt will be handing over the money for the A9 thro gritted teeth...and will be very much grudged. I really cant imagine that amount being spent again up this way, not within the next 50 years. It will be all their centralised pet projects that sees the money

Scottish Govt. announced plans to dual both A96 & A9 south earlier this year, it will take time for planning and capital to be ringfenced but will be completed in under 20 years apparently.

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/files/documents/projects/A96_Inshes_to_Nairn_-_Exhibition_Boards.pdf

[+Gringo]

I've always found the A9 to be a particularly good road with regards to its lay out. There are no bad bends and the signposts are clear and unobstructed. Lane markings are also clear. The only things that make it a 'bad road' is the weather conditions and a poor standard of driving. We don't yet know what caused these tragic accidents - it may have had nothing to do with bad driving at all (a mechanical failure or illness etc).

[crownjaggie]

I have come very close to head on crashes several times on the A9. Each time on long sweeping bends where drivers coming the other way have overtaken a line of cars and obviously not seen me coming the other way through the line of cars they were overtaking. Squeeky bum moments and close encounters with the verge at around 70, have seen me avoiding being part of the stats.

Otherwise I agree in the main that the A9 is generally a good road.

I understand fully why continental drivers are involved in so many Highland accidents, having spent many years in the RAF in Germany. Travelling home wasn't a problem. Problems occurred when joining empty roads during the holiday and driving normally on the right side of the road. My solution was to put a sticker on my steering wheel "Drive on the Left"

Edited June 9, 2012 by crownjaggie

[bauhaus]

A9 Perth to Inverness, when all the original upgrading was done was a very good road. What has undone the A9 now is the speed of the cars, as they are all much more powerful than previous. Those gentle bends were designed to allow vision to pass the slowest of traffic, but they designed them not expecting the speed of the cars on the A9 increase so much. Used to have to travel to Dundee every week, leaving at 6am and finishing at 5pm. Sometimes I would sit at 75-80 and would get passes by countless amounts of cars, yet I was already 33% over the limit.

As I've said before my old man was in the police. Several times on the A9 in unmarked cars doing 120-140 mph they had been passed by other cars, and when they looked in and saw the uniforms they have all of a sudden lost their nerve and braked hard.

[Alex MacLeod]

First point SMEE. It wasn't a lorry that hit the bus. It was a small van. Bauhaus dont you think you may be exagerating slightly in your last sentence. If that was your old man then he was as guilty as anyone else. Even the police are breaking the law if their driving at those speeds without blues.

As for the road. I drive it very frequently and have never been close to an altercation with another vehicle. I have however witnessed some real stupidity at times. I've witnessed people risk lives to get a few places ahead of the traffic only to come up behind them at the first set of roadworks.

Roads are not dangerous. Roads are not killers. Thats people.

Back to yesterdays accident. It is believed that the van was trying to overtake the car when the bus appeared. Knowing the section of road I find that difficult to comprehend though. There are no blind bends.

[CaleyJulz]

I believe it is the drivers and not the road !! I am a non driver and being in the car with Rob and the kids as a passenger, we have seen some right fools on the road. We have seen a few near misses on the A96 and even on the road to Ardersier !!! Coming home from hospital with Marc one evening Rob over took a lorry it was safe to do so, some behind his overtook the lorry too, only for the muppet to try and under take us !!

Even the wee back roads have accidents too and it is purely down to the driver, the road does not say hey lets make this car crash !!!

[Charles Bannerman]

remember Trams were Labours folly

Oh yes? Well take a look at this then.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk...t-fife-14734520

Maybe it's also worth remembering other SNP pet projects such as centralising the Police into a single (central belt dominated) force and forcing local Councils to adopt their Council Tax freeze to the detriment of local services.

Salmond is very good at banging on about his referendum (where he is actually asking Highlanders to vote to have their lives completely dominated by the sectarian ridden central belt) and how a Yes vote will end up in more self determination. But what he really means is that he wants the lives of every Scot to be totally controlled by his own little fiefdom at Holyrood. Devolution for him is fine as long as it concentrates power in Edinburgh which is exactly what he is doing by removing local control over the likes of police and what local services can be afforded and concentrating it right in his own back yard.

As for the A9, it's actually not a bad road and what cause a lot of the problems are some of the total lunatics you find driving on it - a point already very well made by Mrs Jnr. Slow traffic (even though Tesco lorries are no more) is also a problem and a combination of the two is not good at all.

Actually one of the biggest liabilities I have seen on the A9 is on a Saturday morning when fans driving to football matches in the south are better than most at behaving like complete nutcases.

Edited June 10, 2012 by Charles Bannerman

[bauhaus]

Alex, my old man used to be involved with training high speed pursuit police drivers. They were often doing very high speed without the blues on, and often in unmarked vehicles. We are talking over 20 years ago. They used to get all over Scotlands roads, but one he often recalled was coming north, down the dip to Daviot. 3 training drivers and him, they were touching 145 and a Porche was overtaking them until they looked in and saw the uniforms.

Incidentally, I have never been hit on any of the three main north roads, its always been more minor ones, Fort William - Mallaig road twice though, and both times my car was a complete write off.

Sad about the two painters going home after a weeks work, may well have been frustration on what would have been a very busy A9 on Friday.

Charles, was it not Labours dream to have the trams from the airport to the city centre, job becomes totally over budget, and now Labour vote to stop it short. Sorry but that would be even more of a folly than completing it to the city centre, under tight budgets and new contractors.

[Alex MacLeod]

Bauhaus, have you been on the Fort - Mallaig road recently. 45 minutes journey time now without breaking limits. Morar and Arisaig totally bypassed.

[The Mantis]

Charles, was it not Labours dream to have the trams from the airport to the city centre, job becomes totally over budget, and now Labour vote to stop it short. Sorry but that would be even more of a folly than completing it to the city centre, under tight budgets and new contractors.

That's how I understand it. The SNP government bailed them out on condition it went right in rather than stopping at Haymarket. Otherwise it would just have been scrapped. The SNP were against the trams all along.

[bauhaus]

Alex, yes every six weeks i go to Glenfinnan, Arasaig, Morar and Mallaig, and occassionally get the ferry over to Teangue, Isleornsay and Kinloch. Nicer drive now, but its the bit thats between Glenfinnan and Lochailort that needs ironing.

[Alex MacLeod]

Announced today that work will start on A9 two years earlier than first planned. So expect a couple of years of long delays between Dunkeld and Perth

[+Tree]

Announced today that work will start on A9 two years earlier than first planned. So expect a couple of years of long delays between Dunkeld and Perth

SNP choose to announce an existing scheme (in fact dates back to the days of labour) which was once in the programme to start this year? How to try and move the goalposts to make it seem like they are speeding things up.

It is also a 2+1 and not dual carriageway

[IBM]

Announced today that work will start on A9 two years earlier than first planned. So expect a couple of years of long delays between Dunkeld and Perth

SNP choose to announce an existing scheme (in fact dates back to the days of labour) which was once in the programme to start this year? How to try and move the goalposts to make it seem like they are speeding things up.

It is also a 2+1 and not dual carriageway

Think you have that wrong, the plan is to upgrade the Kincraig overtaking lane to Dual Carriageway. Labour/Liberal's had 8 years in power and did nothing! Then in the SNP's first term all other parties outvoted the SNP on their plans and WASTED all the money on the Edinburgh Trams! At least there is a plan in place now although it will take many years to complete, during that time we will have to be patient and drive with care.

[+Tree]

Think you have that wrong, the plan is to upgrade the Kincraig overtaking lane to Dual Carriageway. Labour/Liberal's had 8 years in power and did nothing! Then in the SNP's first term all other parties outvoted the SNP on their plans and WASTED all the money on the Edinburgh Trams! At least there is a plan in place now although it will take many years to complete, during that time we will have to be patient and drive with care.

I am no foot soldier for any party so will avoid getting dragged in lab/lib failings.

Having had a chance to see the full announcement, you are correct the section is now to be upgraded to dual. The Kincraig to Dalraddy upgrade to 2+1 was part of the 2003 programme with a target start date of c2012.

So more is being done but later than proposed

[Alex MacLeod]

There was a plan for another overtaking section at Kincraig but this has now been scrapped and instead will be made a section of dual. This is the section that was announced as starting two years early.

The first part of the original programme which will begin as scheduled will be the joining of the two existing sections of dual north of Perth. If memory serves correct (I cant be bothered searching out the plans) the second phase will join the two sections of dual south of Inverness.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Alex MacLeod

[SMEE]

The powers that be were also saying, if full funding for Scotland was re-instated by westminster, the whole project would be finnished earlier. Al wager that London didnt see any spending cuts!!

[IBM]

The powers that be were also saying, if full funding for Scotland was re-instated by westminster, the whole project would be finnished earlier. Al wager that London didnt see any spending cuts!!

You are right there has been no spending cuts in London, there has been BILLIONS spent in the name of the Olympics even sucking Lotto money from Scotland. An early start is good but I am sure it can be finished before 2025.