Dualling the A9 is about life and death not the Yes or No vote
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Some people on Twitter claim we politicised the debate on A9 dualling with our story asking the Scottish Government “how many more people need to die?”
The most common argument was that roads are not dangerous, drivers are, so demanding that the Scottish Government dual the road will not make a difference.
Here are the facts.
Dual carriageways are safer
Driver behaviour plays a role in many accidents, but the type of road also makes a huge difference.
In 2013, a major study by the Road Safety Foundation found single carriageways are three times more risky than dual carriageways – and seven times more risky than motorways.
That single carriageways are much more lethal than dual carriageways was also evidenced by the Scottish Government’s own agency Transport Scotland – the body responsible for the dualling programme – last week.
More people die on rural roads
In its Key Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2022 report, Transport Scotland revealed that those who died in “non-built-up” areas – like almost all of the A9 – accounted for almost three quarters of those killed (74 per cent).
The full section from the report states: “In 2022, non built-up roads accounted for over two-fifths of the total number of reported casualties (43 per cent: 2427 out of 5587).
“However, they accounted for over almost three quarters of those killed (74 per cent: 129 out of 174) and over two-fifths of the total number of seriously injured (46 per cent: 804 out of 1759).”
Central reservation
Single carriageways do not have a central reservation, so when the longer driving times are factored in the chances of an otherwise good driver making a mistake that becomes fatal is hugely increased.
The same report found the Highland Council area reported the third highest rate of road casualties in Scotland, with 390 – coming after Glasgow (889) and Edinburgh (707), which have at least double the population of the region.
A 2019 study by the UK government’s Department of Transport for the whole of Great Britain showed rural roads are more dangerous than urban routes, and many times greater than motorways.
The report stated: “Of the 1752 road deaths in 2019, the majority (57 per cent) occurred on rural roads (994). A total of 653 deaths occurred on urban roads and 105 on motorways.”
Yes/No Vote
Some readers felt our report was an attack on the First Minister. First, the SNP made a manifesto promise to dual the A9 in 2007 and the party deserves credit for bringing forward the policy and starting the programme.
The manifesto from that year stated: “The case put forward by organisations including the AA motoring trust proves that a range of measures – including dualling of key roads, such as the A9 – would contribute to fewer lives being lost.”
Having made that promise in opposition as well as government – and campaigning on it in several elections – the SNP has shown every intention of carrying it through. But how effectively is a legitimate question for the media to ask.
The new First Minister also campaigned on it, twice stating to the Courier after the SNP’s Inverness hustings and the Inverness Courier’s Leadership Debate that A9 dualling was a priority.
Since then a teenager has lost their life on a section of road that was due to be dualled but deemed too expensive by Scottish ministers – so we asked: how many more people need to die?
