Perthshire road safety campaigners have welcomed proposals to lower the national speed limit to 50mph.
The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on changing the limit on single carriageway roads from 60mph to 50mph.
But under the proposals lorries weighing over 7.5 tonnes would see an increased speed limit from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageways.
And on dual carriageways the speed limit would be increased from 50mph to 60mph for qualifying HGVs.
The Birnam and Dunkeld Junction Action Group (BADJAG) has been campaigning for safety measures to be introduced along the A9’s several junctions near Dunkeld.
These include better lighting and clearer signage.
“We are delighted if this means reducing the speed because the single carriageway is so dangerous”, says Pam Green, the group’s coordinator.
“The A9 single carriageway starts at Birnam.
“And you can drive all the way from Plymouth to Birnam on dual carriageway and motorway.
“Drivers are travelling long ways and are sometimes not noticing the changing signs.
“There are eight junctions between Birnam and the Jubilee Bridge, which means a lot of traffic is crossing the A9.
“Any changes would have to be monitored with random speed checks.”
How could a 50mph limit make the A9 safer?
Fellow BADJAG member David Bee believes it is a “positive step in the right direction”.
“But it is only one of a raft of measures we would like to see introduced”, he says.
“At the moment there is a huge amount of near misses, stress and damage to vehicles at junctions.
“Holidays and weekends are particularly bad.
“Most accidents occur on single carriageway and in the last 10 days there has been two severe accidents and a fatality.
“It should be all about safety over speed.
A man was hospitalised on November 15 following a three vehicle crash near Birnam.Â
And a man died after a four vehicle crash at Ballinluig on November 19.
David also claims that lorries are driving in excess of 50mph on A9 and says this needs to be more closely monitored.
Could 50mph HGV speed limits on the A9 become permeant?
The Scottish Government’s measures are aiming to reduce injuries and deaths on Scotland’s roads.
Transport Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, said: “This consultation on proposed changes to speed limits is part of our record £36 million investment in road safety this financial year.
“Revising speed limits could lead to a significant reduction in the number of injury collisions on our roads.
“We must never lose sight of the fact that one death on our roads is one too many.
“These proposed changes represent a vital step towards achieving national casualty reduction targets.”
Single carriageway sections of the A9 have already seen pilots of 50mph speed limits for HGVs since 2016.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) sees this as a success.
The RHA’s policy director for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Martin Reid, said: Â “The 50mph trial on the A9 has resulted in a reduction in risky overtaking with a resultant improvement in safety.”
The government’s National Speed Management Review will include public engagement sessions and will end on March 5 2025.
Conversation