What a joke....... (A9 content)

[Scotty C]

There is word that they are maybe going to trial letting lorries drive at 50mph on the A9.

[sendmyusername]

The tourists seem to manage ok until they after perth, and many of them drive all the way up from england ?
A lot of the head on has been due to tourists going too slow and locals just 'going for it'
Re education would be a good thing, however you are talking about a large amount of people, and even if retrained it wouldn't mean they would stick to their training afterwards.
If it was dualled it would cut down on the head ons.
Personally when i'm travelling up to inverness way, I go braemar, tomintoul, granton on spey way, much nicer, quieter roads, better scenery, and not a flat winding deathtrap .... ( just my opinion)
As for people not being happy with others making their way down the queues and overtaking, we've all had that.
I overtook last week, I was out into oncoming lane, overtook car, and pulled back in (the slower car was doing about 40, I overtook at 60(ish) so was out-and-in in a very short time. Guy coming towards me took exception to this and decided there hadn't been enough room for this manouver. He flashed his lights repeatedly. (i was already back in my own lane before he had done this) then decided that wasn't enough, lowered his window. Extended his arm held it out for a while as he was still to far away from me and flicked me the v's. All before he was 100 yards away. The fact he had time to do all this before he got to me (i was travelling quite fast) and that he hadn't had to brake to allow me to complete this manouver was totally lost on him.
It was one of the more bizarre incidents

[robin]

I don't have any statistical data to go on - but I am assuming the stats show what we expect them to - i.e. that the death rate on the A9 is higher than any other road in the UK.

The same people (statistically) drive all our roads.

The road is to blame (statistically).

I would love there to be an intensive campaign of driver re-education, but it isn't going to happen, nor is it likely to work on a large scale (although most people now wear seatbelts, I suppose, so it can work)..

Cheers,
Robin

[sendmyusername]

I don't have any statistical data to go on - but I am assuming the stats show what we expect them to - i.e. that the death rate on the A9 is higher than any other road in the UK.

The same people (statistically) drive all our roads.

The road is to blame (statistically).

I would love there to be an intensive campaign of driver re-education, but it isn't going to happen, nor is it likely to work on a large scale (although most people now wear seatbelts, I suppose, so it can work)..

Cheers,
Robin

That's what I was trying to say, but in a hamfisted way.

[Doc883]

Frustration is a factor in accidents on roads like the A9. After being stuck behind slow moving lorries and caravans people often take risks.

[Scottish Scrutineer]

There is word that they are maybe going to trial letting lorries drive at 50mph on the A9.

About time they did that. When I was driving trucks regularly on the A9 there was an unwritten understanding that the police wouldn't bother you if you kept it below 50'ish on the single carriageways. Their view was the frustration caused by HGVs at 40mph was what led to ill planned overtakes.


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Renny

[Doc883]

Not long back from a driving holiday to Europe going through Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy and Germany. Noticed a lot of European Countries ban HGV's from the roads at weekends (although I believe you can get an exemption). Another scheme I'd like to see here is banning Lorries from overtaking on dual carriageways during the morning and evening busy commuting times, seems to work well on the mainland

[Mikie711]

I don't have any statistical data to go on - but I am assuming the stats show what we expect them to - i.e. that the death rate on the A9 is higher than any other road in the UK.

The same people (statistically) drive all our roads.

The road is to blame (statistically).

I would love there to be an intensive campaign of driver re-education, but it isn't going to happen, nor is it likely to work on a large scale (although most people now wear seatbelts, I suppose, so it can work)..

Cheers,
Robin

It doesn't even make the top 10 as it happens.

[Stu160]

There is word that they are maybe going to trial letting lorries drive at 50mph on the A9.

About time they did that. When I was driving trucks regularly on the A9 there was an unwritten understanding that the police wouldn't bother you if you kept it below 50'ish on the single carriageways. Their view was the frustration caused by HGVs at 40mph was what led to ill planned overtakes.


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Renny

I am up and down the A9 most weekends and agree, the Tesco lorries doing 40 are the biggest pain. This leads to unsafe passing, lets face it, with only a few places between Perth and Pitlochry , any pass on the single carriagway IS unsafe.

If they were allowed to do 50 the road would be much safer.

Stu

[robin]

I don't have any statistical data to go on - but I am assuming the stats show what we expect them to - i.e. that the death rate on the A9 is higher than any other road in the UK.

Robin

It doesn't even make the top 10 as it happens.

Can you share your source?

Cheers,
Robin

[robin]

I am up and down the A9 most weekends and agree, the Tesco lorries doing 40 are the biggest pain. This leads to unsafe passing, lets face it, with only a few places between Perth and Pitlochry , any pass on the single carriagway IS unsafe.

If they were allowed to do 50 the road would be much safer.
Stu

Hmm. I don't know what the speed limit is on that A9 sections you're talking about, but my guess is that cars are aiming to travel at >50mph there? If so, speeding the lorries up won't help, will it? It just means that if you don't overtake, your journey time will improve; if you do overtake (which is where the danger comes from, I would think), you'll be taking a slightly higher risk due to spending slightly more time on the wrong side of the road.

Cheers,
Robin

[Mikie711]

I don't have any statistical data to go on - but I am assuming the stats show what we expect them to - i.e. that the death rate on the A9 is higher than any other road in the UK.

Robin

It doesn't even make the top 10 as it happens.

Can you share your source?

Cheers,
Robin

Most info is a couple of years old but the most recent I could find is this, I guess it's the lag in compiling the data that means it's always at least a year behind.
If you click the link for the report itself the A9 is classified as a low to medium risk road and even in Scotland there are worse roads.

[campbell]

I happen to really like the A9, and my views and experiences are well documented elsewhere on here.

It's all about how you use it. Including time of day etc.

One of the points though Campbell, is that it is how others use it, not yourself.

tut

The way to look at it though, Tut, is that we can only control how we use it ourselves. This includes our mental attitude to it.

The point made about not using it all, and enjoying an alternative route instead, illustrates this quite well.

[Tom]

I must admit to being surprised at the view that it's the government's fault or responsibility if somebody dies on any road. Driving is a pretty dangerous activity and suggesting anyone other than the driver is responsible I think is absolving personal responsibility in attempt to shift the blame. I agree that deaths/accidents might occur involving the safest and most observant of drivers when the fault is/may be the entire responsibility or fault of the other driver, but these are accidents, and sadly they will always happen.

If a member of my family died on the road in an accident that was clearly 100% the fault of the other driver, it would be the other driver's fault and not the government's (assuming I'm certain that my family member was in no way responsible). It would be sad, but that's just life. We're all going to die one day, maybe by slipping on the soap, maybe a road accident, maybe old age - all we can do is try and do a good job with the time we've got.

My feeling is that some roads are more dangerous than others, and if you feel unsafe on a road then slow down and make sure you're concentrating. Part of having a driving licence and driving on the roads means you accept that there are other people (of varying ability) going the other way. If you attempt an overtake you're agreeing to put yourself and the other occupants of your car into the path of oncoming traffic and accepting all the possible risks involved (both to your vehicle and the others around you). All any driver can do is try and ensure they're fully aware of what's going on around them and drive accordingly.


Going back to the OP's point, yes the A9 would be safer if it was a duel carriageway along it's whole length but sadly someone needs to pay for it. However much money there is (or isn't) available for projects such as improving roads will I'm sure be allocated in some sort of agreed way decided on by people who should have all the stats to hand. Either that or it's politics in action but that's a story for another day.

[Stu160]

I am up and down the A9 most weekends and agree, the Tesco lorries doing 40 are the biggest pain. This leads to unsafe passing, lets face it, with only a few places between Perth and Pitlochry , any pass on the single carriagway IS unsafe.

If they were allowed to do 50 the road would be much safer.
Stu

Hmm. I don't know what the speed limit is on that A9 sections you're talking about, but my guess is that cars are aiming to travel at >50mph there? If so, speeding the lorries up won't help, will it? It just means that if you don't overtake, your journey time will improve; if you do overtake (which is where the danger comes from, I would think), you'll be taking a slightly higher risk due to spending slightly more time on the wrong side of the road.

Cheers,
Robin

The limit ( going by my satnav, which must be correct?) is 60 on single and 70 on dual. I am more than happy to sit at 50 in traffic . 40 is just so slow...

I understand what you mean by being quicker to overtake if they are doing 40, but personally i wouldnt bother if they were doing 50, as i presume , would 95% of the other A9 users.

Stu