A Perthshire MSP has slammed motorists caught during a 10-day clampdown by police on the A9 Perth to Inverness road.
Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, who has also campaigned for the dualling of what has been dubbed ”Scotland’s deadliest road”, gave his comments following the figures being released by Tayside Police and Northern Constabulary.
A total of 687 motorists were caught speeding during the crackdown, which finished on August 25. In addition, 33 motorists were detected using their mobile phones while driving and one person was caught not wearing a seatbelt.
A further four drivers were stopped for careless or dangerous driving.
Officers were also checking for overloaded vehicles, motorists driving without insurance, licence or MOT and drivers crossing solid white lines.
The campaign, which involved partners from VOSA, and Northern and Tayside Camera Partnerships, as well as officers from both forces, aimed to reduce the number of collisions, and the number of casualties, during August.
Commenting on the shocking results, Mr Fraser said speeding ”can never be justified”, especially on a road “as dangerous” as the A9.
”I would encourage all motorists to drive with due care and attention whilst negotiating this road,” he said. ”It is unbelievable that there are still so many people causing unnecessary risks by using handheld mobile phones whilst driving.”
And he emphasised the problems encountered by those who use the notorious road, stressing that this makes the case for dualling even stronger.
Mr Fraser added: ”Road safety initiatives such as these always demonstrate their worth, but the A9’s current layout encourages drivers to take risks, including speeding in an effort to move past slow-moving traffic.
”Also, drivers will use excessive speed on small portions of dual carriageway in order to overtake.
”The long-awaited upgrade of the A9 from Perth to Inverness to full dual carriageway should have a positive impact on road safety on this, Scotland’s most dangerous road.”
Inspector Julie Robertson, of the Tayside Police road policing unit, said both forces were ”disappointed” at the number of motorists caught offending during the campaign.
Campaigners have fought to have the A9 between Perth and Inverness dualled in a bid to reduce the accident rate, and the Scottish Government announced that work is to start on upgrading the road in 2015-16.
Councillor Alexander Stewart, who represents Perth City South and is a member of the Tayside Joint Police Board, also expressed dismay at the statistics.
He said he was ”shocked and staggered” by the figures.
”The A9 is considered as one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland and these statistics give us an insight into why that might be the case, because if people are prepared to use mobile phones and exceed the speed the limit then no wonder there are so many accidents on this stretch of road,” he said.