Lib Dems call for action as figures reveal Scotland's most dangerous trunk roads
Figures show a serious or fatal accident on Scotland's major roads almost every day
The Scottish Liberal Democrats say more needs to be done to keep Scotland’s drivers safe, as new figures reveal the most dangerous roads in the country.
They show the number of serious and fatal accidents on roads managed directly by the Scottish Government is higher now than in 2013.
The A90, A9, A96 and A85 saw the highest number of such crashes, with the A90 recording 147 serious or fatal accidents in the last four years- one every 10 days.
Figures revealed through parliamentary questions have shown that on average a serious or fatal accident happened nearly every day on Scotland’s trunk roads since 2013.
Commenting, Mike Rumbles MSP said:
“We need to ensure that we do what we can to make our roads as safe as possible. These figures clearly demonstrate that the Scottish Government has not been able to bring the number of accidents down on the trunk roads that are directly under their control.
“While infrastructure projects like the Queensferry crossing are a marvel to behold they are of little benefit to those that frequent the rural roads of the A9 or the A82 who have not seen any improvement in their safety record. Transport infrastructure projects have been budgeted for and announced with great fanfare but are being dragged out and delayed.
“Our emergency services do fantastic, life-saving work responding to accidents as they happen but they need the government to back them up too.”
But Michael McDonnell from Road Safety Scotland is telling us the figures aren’t as bad as the Lib Dems are making out.
He went on to say drivers need to take responsibility for keeping themselves and other safe: “It comes back to the people who use the road, and what they’ve got to do is use it in a responsible and safe manner.
“More and more when I see accidents coming through, a lot of it is people losing control on bends. So I think we need to be conscious of the fact that could happen to you if you’re going too fast."