Crash rate on A9 continues to fall

Average speed cameras making impact

Dangerous driver distractions are to be the focus of a new safety drive to curb accidents on the A9 in June, campaigners have announced.

The A9 Safety Group says there is a “concerning” trend of the problem being a factor in incidents on the route.

Members have just revealed the latest round of statistics of fatalities, collisions and speeding on the A9 from Dunblane to Inverness which show a continued fall after the introduction of average speed cameras, campaigners have said.

Up to the end of January this year fatal casualties were down by 44% between Dunblane and Inverness.

And there were no fatal collisions between Dunblane and Perth in the same period.

But the figures released on Tuesday this week did not include two fatalities recorded on the route in April. They are expected to be included in the next report.

Two people died as a result of crashes - one at Kindallachan and the other outside Dunblane. A man has been charged and appeared in court in connection with the Dunblane incident.

Statistics provided by those behind the A9 camera scheme indicate there were no fatalities on the Dunblane to Perth stretch, and nine north of Perth in the 27 months of operation.

Stuart Wilson, chair of the A9 Safety Group, said: “The longer term downward trend for casualty figures on the A9 is being supported by the latest data which considers the casualty figures over the 27 months since the average speed cameras were installed.

“The number of fatal and serious casualties between Dunblane and Inverness is down by almost 43%. There have been no fatal casualties between Dunblane and Perth and a reduction of almost 40% in fatal casualties between Perth and Inverness during the monitoring period.

“The other performance data continues to support the positive change in driver behaviour on the route and also highlights evidence to show that the journey time for people travelling between Perth and Inverness has remained consistent.”

The figures also show a reduction in drivers being caught speeding. They have fallen from 11 drivers a day to eight.

Up to the end of April 2017 10,107 vehicles were reported for exceeding the speed limit. The figure compares with 12,000 who were caught by fixed cameras and mobile units in a set period used as the baseline for comparison.