Dunkeld A9 campaigners have renewed their call for safety improvements after yet another serious accident on the notorious road.
A woman was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee after the Volkswagen Polo she was driving was involved in a collision with a campervan.
It happened near Birnam on November 22. Police have made an appeal for witnesses.
‘Saddened’ by latest incident
Pam Green is convener of Birnam and Dunkeld Junctions Action Group (JAG).
The group recently met Transport Scotland officials and local SNP MSP John Swinney. They are calling for urgent measures to save lives on the Perth to Inverness road.
They want to see, among other measures, a reduced speed limit at Dunkeld and Birnam, and lighting at junctions.
In addition, they say there should be better signage to warn motorists about the change between single and dual carriageway sections.
“We are very saddened and concerned that there has been another accident on the A9 near our village of Birnam,” says Pam.
“We now need action and urge the transport minister to urgently come up with plans to improve the safety on this dangerous stretch of road.”
Dualling the A9 at Dunkeld will not happen imminently. Transport bosses are still finalising the design of the preferred route for the Pass of Birnam to Tay crossing stretch.
In the meantime, in parliament Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth recently reiterated her commitment to introducing “short-term urgent measures” to enhance road safety on the A9.
Police appeal
Police Scotland has appealed for those with dashcam footage of the latest incident on the A9 near Dunkeld to get in touch. Witnesses can contact police on 101 quoting incident 2487 of November 22.
The accident involving a car and a Volkswagen California Ocean campervan happened at around 5.30pm.
This year has seen the highest death toll on the A9 for more than a decade.
Earlier this month, the road claimed its 13th life this year. A woman died in an accident north of Luncarty on November 17. The accident happened on a dualled section.
In comparison, there was only one fatal accident between Perth and Inverness in each year of 2019, 2020 and 2021.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We are continuing to monitor road safety on the A9 and are working with partners at Police Scotland to understand the circumstances of recent accidents on this route and identify any need for further investigations.”
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