Murdo Fraser MSP has said shocking figures which show deaths on single carriageway stretches of the A9 have outnumbered those on dualled sections by 20 to one reinforce the need to push on with dualling of the road between Perth and Inverness.
The Scottish Conservative politician was reacting to data obtained for The Scotsman newspaper from Police Scotland through Freedom of Information. This research highlighted the importance of dualling by revealing that there has only been one fatal collision on a dualled section of the notorious road since 2017 – believed to be a single death – compared to 16 collisions on single carriageway sections, involving 20 deaths.
The figures only include nine of this year’s deaths, which have now reached 12 – the highest number on the road since 2010.
Commenting, Mr Fraser, who represents the Mid Scotland and Fife region, said: “These police statistics on deaths on the A9 are truly shocking and reinforce the necessity for the SNP Government to push on with the full dualling of this road. People will clearly see how the number of fatal accidents on single carriageway stretches of the road outnumber those on dualled sections by 20 to one – a statistic that beggars belief.
“Each one of these deaths has enormous consequences for the families and friends of those involved. It is evident that we will only see a reduction in the number of accidents on the A9 if the dualling project is fully completed. However, there is too much dithering from the SNP Government on when the project will be finished, and not enough clarity as to when the next section of dualling will even begin.”
Mr Fraser continued: “It was good to hear Neil Greig, the Scotland-based policy and research director of the IAM Road Smart motoring group, state that he feels these figures show the need to accelerate the upgrade the A9 to full dual carriageway status, and I recently talked with members of the A9 Dual Action Group, whose members are also very concerned at the lack of progress on dualling.
“When the A9 dualling project was first announced, we were told it would be completed by 2025 – that obviously won’t happen now. The SNP Government need to crack on with the scheme as there are around 70 miles of the road that still need dualling. If not, I’m afraid we will see more deaths on the A9.”
