Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2022
I thank the Conservatives for bringing forward today’s motion for debate. The tone of the motion is respectful to the families of those who have lost loved ones on Scotland’s roads, and I will, of course, continue that sentiment throughout my contribution.
The publication of reported road casualties in Scotland for 2021 showed a broadly stable picture of deaths and injuries on our roads—there was one fewer fatality than in 2020, and a single percentage increase in injuries. However, that will not be the picture for 2022. We already know that the statistics for this year are going to be very different. To date, in 2022, 10 fatal injury accidents have been recorded on the A9 trunk road, with 15 fatal casualties. Of the 10 fatal accidents, seven occurred between Perth and Inverness, resulting in 12 fatal casualties. To compare that with previous years, there was only one fatal accident between Perth and Inverness in each year of 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Every death on the A9—or any of Scotland’s roads—is one too many. Every life lost has devastating impacts for families, friends, colleagues and communities. I express my sympathies to everyone who has been affected by such a loss, and to anyone who has been injured on our roads. We know the very human cost of loss and the toll that it takes on our emergency services.
I am sure that members will understand that, because police investigations into recent accidents are on-going, it would not be appropriate for me or any of us to comment significantly on any individual case today. However, I assure members that I have met Police Scotland in recent weeks in Inverness to better understand the increase in fatal accidents and the underlying contributory factors.
On Friday this week, in Pitlochry, I will chair the A9 safety group, which includes wider partners from our roads operating company, Police Scotland, the road haulage and freight transport associations, local authorities and the Confederation of Passenger Transport. Thereafter, I will meet constituency and regional members to hear their views and concerns and to ensure that those are taken into account in planning the required short-term interventions. In the coming weeks, I will announce additional short-term measures for the A9 between Perth and Inverness, in advance of dualling works.
It is worth saying that, this year alone, the Scottish Government has invested more than £7 million in spend on maintenance, structures and road safety improvements on the A9.