The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Crazy motorists drove wrong way to avoid fire
A90 BLAZE: Drivers doubled back to find exit off road
“Crazily dangerous” motorists drove the wrong way down one of Tayside’s busiest roads in an effort to avoid delays on Saturday morning.
Vehicles were filmed travelling in the wrong direction on the eastbound carriageway of the A90 near Inchture while emergency services attended a lorry on fire.
A spokesman for the Institute of Advanced Motorists said: “The A90 is a fast road at the best of times and to attempt this in bad weather in the face of oncoming traffic is selfish beyond belief.”
Carse of Gowrie Labour councillor Alasdair Bailey said: “It’s really dangerous to second-guess the situation after an accident.
Who knows what more emergency services may need to hurry to the scene?”
Fire crews were called to the lorry on fire shortly after 9am on Saturday.
The incident led to delays on the road but while most traffic queued patiently, some drivers doubled back to find an exit off the carriageway.
Impatient motorists have been slammed for driving the wrong way down one of Tayside’s busiest roads after a lorry caught fire.
The vehicles were filmed travelling westbound on the eastbound carriageway of the A90 shortly after 9am on Saturday.
The road, which is the major artery between Dundee and Perth, had been closed near Inchture due to the blaze.
Emergency services were called to the scene at about 7.50am.
Several motorists were witnessed travelling back the way they had come in a bid to escape the chaos, in a move branded “crazy” by road safety experts.
A spokesman for the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) said: “The wrong way driving recorded here was crazily dangerous.
“The A90 is a fast road at the best of times and to attempt this in bad weather in the face of oncoming traffic is selfish beyond belief.
“The emergency services had enough to do when dealing with this incident so they do need drivers to act sensibly.”
Local councillor Alasdair Bailey said although police had closed the road behind the drivers, the motorists had no way of knowing this.
He said: “It’s very concerning to see these drivers driving south on the northbound carriageway of the A90.
“It’s really dangerous to second-guess the situation after an accident – who knows what more emergency services may need to hurry to the scene?”
The fire was visible from several miles away and the trailer was left a smouldering ruin by the side of the A90.
Plumber Ciaran Davidson was travelling to work in Perth with colleague Brian Donald when they spotted flames rising from the road ahead of them.
Mr Donaldson filmed the dramatic fire and said they could feel the intense heat as they passed.
He said: “It was crazy – I’ve never seen a vehicle on fire like that.
“We were in the works van driving along and we saw the trailer on fire. The main part of the lorry had been disconnected.
“We had the window down and you could feel the heat coming from it even from the other side of the road – it was hot enough to keep you warm on a cold night.”
Following the fire BEAR Scotland assessed the area to see if it needed resurfaced.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said there had been no incidents reported to them and advice on what to do following a crash could be found on their website.
To attempt this in bad weather in the face of oncoming traffic is selfish beyond belief. IAM SPOKESMAN