Readers have defended the A9 in a series of letters, saying the problem on the route is not the road itself but driver behaviour.
The letters, published under the headline The A9 is not a dangerous road. The problem lies with bad driving, were written in response to a recent article about the ongoing dualling of the A9.
Glasgow reader says delays are worse in the cities
Andy Stenton of Glasgow said he was “fed up” reading that the A9 is “one of the most dangerous roads” in Scotland because it is not dualled.
“The road is perfectly fine. The problem is the drivers,” he wrote.
Stenton said he was on the A9 a week ago and found it busy, with delays mainly caused by the ongoing work to dual the road. But, he added, the queues were “nothing to those I constantly face in Edinburgh or Glasgow on what is called a motorway.”
He suggested that drivers with time to spare should use the old A9 and take in “Newtonmore, Kingussie, Kincraig, Aviemore and Carrbridge.”
Calls for better driving and common sense
Another letter, from Ian Turner of Bearsden, said there is “no such thing as ‘a dangerous road’.”
“Police traffic superintendents and other road experts will confirm this: there is only drivers’ inability to drive competently at a speed suitable to the road conditions,” he wrote.
Turner said it would be a good idea if people took the Advanced Drivers Course. He added that in his own experience, accidents only happened when another vehicle struck him from behind, especially in snow or ice.
He also said there had been a previous article suggesting there were almost the same number of accidents on dualled and single track sections of the A9.
Turner criticised politicians for lacking “experience of the real world” and said many could use “common sense” advice from people in the street instead of “expensive consultants.” He added: “Quangos are slow and expensive.”
On the A9 project itself, he said there was “no comparison” with the Queensferry Crossing, except for the “obvious fault by the designer failing to ensure that it coped with ice.” He said the crossing was “mainly a virgin construction” while A9 dualling had to keep traffic moving while the existing road was removed and rebuilt as a dual carriageway.
Other letters on public policy and media
The letters page also included comments on prisoner early release, immigration policy, the BBC, Scottish theatre and airport naming.
Ian McNair of Cellardyke, Fife, asked: “How does early release work here?” He said there had been major UK media coverage of English prisoner early release, but little discussion of Scotland’s own early release programme. He said he would like more journalistic scrutiny to reassure the public.
Clark Cross of Linlithgow criticised the Equality and Human Rights Commission, while Neil Stewart of Balfron said he was tired of the BBC’s line that “Everything across the BBC is funded by you” and argued that more should be done to reflect funding across Scotland rather than London.
Other letters covered George Orwell’s 1984, possible airport naming suggestions and a recollection of a school science teacher. The letters were signed by readers in Glasgow, Bearsden, Cellardyke, Linlithgow, Balfron, Lenzie, Tarbolton and Milngavie.