Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2015
As has been said, we all know that the A9 average-speed cameras have been a resounding success. I agree to an extent with Murdo Fraser that all the evidence is not yet in, but we have sufficient evidence to show us that the scheme has been successful to date. Although accidents continue, which is of course tragic, I hope that the level will remain lower than was the case before the speed cameras were introduced. As has been said, the system, which cost £3 million, has been credited with cutting the number of people speeding on the A9.
I believe that the road is now much safer. Like other members, I have driven on the road. I have been driving on it since the mid-1960s when I passed my driving test in, I think, 1967. I remember travelling from Lossiemouth to Edinburgh on the old A9: it took seven hours, and was nose to tail the whole way. A big chunk of the road runs through Badenoch, which is an important part of my constituency. Three times over the years, I have been very fortunate to avoid head-on collisions with various vehicles when going round corners or driving at night. Somehow or other, I managed to get into a layby that just happened to be there at the right time when someone was coming towards me. That has happened to me three times, and I hope that it does not happen again, because I am not sure that a layby would be there the next time. I am very aware of the dangers of the A9.
It is encouraging that the Government listened on the issue of heavy goods vehicles. Several members have said that they made representations and campaigned with others, as I did. I met the then Minister for Transport and Veterans, Keith Brown, and his officials and made a strong case to them that the limit had to be increased, because it would have been an absolute disaster if the average-speed cameras had come on and we had left the HGV limit at 40mph. That would just not have worked and would have created an awful lot of frustration, so the 50mph limit was crucial. If members drive on the A9 now, they will find that they are driving at around 54mph or 55mph for a lot of the way if they come up behind an HGV. That is perfectly acceptable because it is possible to get by the HGVs on the dual carriageway stretches and even at some of the two-plus-one stretches, which I am not keen on.
However, the average-speed cameras have not been without their detractors. As Mike MacKenzie said, the Lib Dems in particular seemed to have a strange logic, teaming up with anyone who had anything negative to say about the cameras. Thankfully, they have stopped their silly posturing as the evidence comes through to show that the scheme is working.
We need to consider the matter more broadly. Mike MacKenzie mentioned the introduction of the new drink-driving limit, for which I campaigned from 2007 until, eventually, we wore the Westminster Government down and forced it to devolve the setting of the limit to us. That took more than five years but the Scottish Government acted within about five months once it had the power. I was pleased about that.
The speed cameras and the drink-driving limit are road safety issues. Safety must always be our top priority. I thank the Scottish Government as it gets the dualling of the A9 under way. That is happening now. Members will see real progress from now on and, within 10 years—if not less than that—the A9 will be fully dualled, which everybody in the chamber will welcome.