'I thought I was dead': Horror A82 smash survivor calls for life-saving speed limit cuts on danger road
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A HORROR smash on the A82 which left one motorist convinced he was going to die and not live to see his unborn child, has sparked calls for urgent speed restrictions on the dangerous route.
Daniel Simpson (23) was lucky to walk away with just bruising after a head-on crash between his car and an oncoming van near the entrance to Abriachan Nursery just over a week ago.
The smash, which occurred on Friday, March 24 sometime around 7pm or 7.30pm, wrecked his Mitsubishi ASX and the Citroen delivery van – both of which lost wheels due to the force of the impact.
And Mr Simpson, who was convinced he was going to die in the split second before the crash, has now called for urgent changes to the existing 60mph speed limit at the road's notorious accident black spots – amid fears other motorists will not be as lucky as he was to miraculously walk away.
He believes 60mph is too high a speed limit when it comes to notorious sections of road between Drumnadrochit and Lochend at the likes of the Clansman Hotel, Abriachan turn-off, and the bend outside the garden nursery where his crash occurred.
He added that the rock face on one side of the road and Loch Ness on the other make the route particularly dangerous, as it is all but impossible to take evasive action.
Calling for reduced limits at known accident black spots, he said: "It's something that's been on my mind, and it's been done on the same road down Fort William way, so I don't see why it can't be changed here.
"It would save lives. If we can save even one life, that's great.
"I'd say [reduced speed limits] are definitely achievable and I don't know why people haven't done it. I'm all for that.
"I know people who have died on that road."
Reflecting on the crash, Mr Simpson recalled the feeling of helplessness when he saw the van approaching round the bend and realised a crash was inevitable.
"There was nothing I could've done. There's no escape on that road. You can't swerve, you can't do anything. But I thought I was dead, to be quite honest. I'm not exaggerating.
"It's the worst kind of situation because you're completely helpless."
Luckily, both Mr Simpson and the other driver were not seriously injured.
But Mr Simpson, who owns the TeraBytes computer shop in Dingwall and lives at Balnain, still spent a night in hospital, and the shock of his brush with death saw him temporarily close his store while he gathered himself.
"I'm just trying to get back to normality," he continued. "I'm still quite sore. I've got a few external jobs – wifi and things like that."
He added that before the crash he had filled the fuel tank ready for a work-related trip to Mallaig the following day and that his car's engine didn't stall in the crash: "It was smoking, we were worried that it was going to blow up, but it didn't."
He was also thankful that his pregnant wife Augusta wasn't in the car with him at the time. He had met up with her in Inverness for a coffee earlier that same day, but they had been in separate vehicles so luckily weren't travelling together during the crash.
He was also full of praise for a passing motorist who came across the crash scene shortly after the collision.
Mr Simpson said he'd helped the other driver get out of the van and called 999 but was in shock and "just speaking utter gibberish – I wasn't making any sense to anyone". He continued; "The guy in the car behind me, they were amazing. They came over, I just gave them my phone and he just dealt with everything – really sorted the entire thing out."
