Churchman brands A9 death rate a ‘shame to the nation’

Upgrading the main road to the Highlands should be a national priority for the Scottish Government, a senior churchman has said.

The number of people killed on the A9 is a “shame to the nation”, said Professor Donald Macleod, the former principal of Free Church College in Edinburgh.

The road which links Perth with Inverness has an “intolerably high” accident rate, he said.

Despite this, it has received “very different” treatment from the Scottish Government to that “lavished” on transport projects in the central belt, such as the Edinburgh trams project and the new Forth road bridge.

Mr Macleod’s call comes less than two weeks after a leading police officer said plans to convert the A9 to a dual carriageway should be brought forward. Chief Superintendent David O’Connor demanded transport chiefs make the work a “higher priority”.

Mr Macleod added: “I am not a frequent user of the A9 but a dozen or so times a year I have to risk it. And each time I set off I know there is a risk that the road will be ‘closed due to an accident’.”