Killer A9
Killer A9 is the nickname given to a section of the A9, Scotland's longest road,[1] known for its high accident and fatality rates.[2][3] The 112-mile (180-kilometre) section,[4] running between Perth and Inverness, changes from a dual carriageway into a single carriageway, swapping between them frequently, resulting in motorists driving at excessive speeds to overtake lines of slower-moving vehicles before the dual-carriageway ends, which is the primary cause of many road traffic accidents.[1] Dangerous overtaking manoeuvres on the long single-carriageway stretches of the road are also contributing factors, as are the non-grade separated junctions along the northern sections, where drivers make a right turn across the opposing traffic flow.[5] There are also several hundred deer strikes each year, with around 200 recorded in 2013.[1] The introduction of average-speed cameras has reduced deaths slightly.[6]
Statistics and status
[edit]As of July 2023, 335 people had been killed on the Perth-to-Inverness stretch of the road since 1979 (an average of 7.6 deaths per year), 59 of which occurred between 2011 and 2022 (an average of 5.4 deaths per year). The "A9 Dual Action Group" was established to bring attention to the statistics. It submitted a petition to the Scottish Parliament in December 2022, calling on the Scottish Government to follow through on its 2011 commitment to convert the remaining 77 miles (124 kilometres)[4] of single carriageway into dual carriageway by 2025.[2] At an expected cost of £3 billion, the A9 dualling project would be the biggest transport project in Scotland's history.[1] In 2023, the Scottish National Party (SNP) stated that the dualling of the road would not be complete by 2025 and has been delayed by a decade.[7][8]
In June 2024, Transport Scotland figures reported that along single carriageways on the A9 there were 199 injuries and 15 deaths compared to 114 injuries and 7 deaths on dual carriageways, highlighting a double fatality rate for the undualed sections of the road.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Life and death on the A9". BBC News. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ a b Maciver, Iain (19 July 2023). "Iain Maciver: Killer A9 should keep Scotland's politicians awake at night". Press and Journal. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Waterston, Kirstie (31 August 2023). "Doctors warned about danger of deaths on A9 without dualling in 1973". Press and Journal. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Crash deaths on notorious section of the A9 reach 20-year high". 5 December 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Duffy, Judith (25 March 2012). "Scotland's most dangerous roads". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ Bowditch, Gillian (24 January 2024). "The failure to complete the dualling of the A9 is the failure of devolution". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Johnson, Simon (9 February 2023). "SNP 'betraying' Highlands by breaking pledge to upgrade 'killer' A9 road". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "A9 dualling failure laid bare as shovel ready sections ditched". RossShire Journal. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Transport Scotland figures show A9 single carriageways are twice as deadly as dual carriageways with 199 injuries and 15 deaths compared to 114 injuries and seven deaths respectively". Strathspey Herald. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.