An “urgent review” is needed of one of Tayside’s most notorious roads, it has been claimed.
Newly-released figures show the A85 is one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland.
The trunk road, which stretches from Perth to Oban, has been the site of 33 serious or fatal collisions over a 18 month period from January 2017.
Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith has has written to Transport Secretary Michael Matheson urging his department to probe the high accident and death rate.
Campaigning alongside local residents and Perth and Kinross councillors, Ms Smith wants the road to be improved and speeding issues to be addressed.
She said: “For far too long, motorists using the A85 have had to endure a trunk road that puts them in danger and that simply cannot continue.
“Community campaigners, councillors and myself have been lobbying on this for years but still we see speeding issues unaddressed as well as a failure to carry out the infrastructure upgrades that are badly needed.
“Too many families and communities have suffered tragic losses as a result of inaction on the A85.”
Transport Scotland said it has put in place a number of measures to tackle dangerous driving and highlight road safety, particularly through the Stirlingshire and Argyll and Bute stretches.
These steps include barriers and speed cameras, while new signage has been installed in Perthshire near Almondbank.
A spokesperson for the agency said: “Road safety is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government.
“We assess the safety performance of the trunk road network on an annual basis by screening all locations where three or more personal injury accidents have occurred in a three year period.
“Alongside accident clusters, we also look at accident patterns and rates in the form of route accident reduction plans.
“This ensures full consideration is given to accidents that may be spread along a corridor. Further investigations are then carried out and, where appropriate, mitigation measures are prioritised for delivery.
“We have made substantial investment on the A85 in recent years through provision of new bend signing between Lochty and Methven.”
In October 2018, firefighters were cut free a passenger trapped in a car following a crash on the road near Almondbank.
And last January, a man was hospitalised following a serious collision on the stretch between Comrie and St Fillans.
Two motorcyclists were also airlifted to Ninewells from the A85 near Comrie after a crash in October.
