By Professor John Robertson OBA
From BBC Scotland all day today:
A group of MSPs say they are concerned not enough money will be available to complete a £3bn project to dual the A9 between Inverness and Perth by 2035.
In a new report, a Holyrood committee said wrangles over funding had already “significantly” contributed to the original 2025 target being missed.
Convener and Scottish Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw said there was “no conspiracy to frustrate” the road but there been a lack of scrutiny and focus.
and
Single carriageway sections are being dualled to improve journey times and safety.
In 2022, the number of fatalities on the Inverness to Perth stretch was 13 – the highest number in 20 years.
Not in the reporting:
Massive fall in A9 road deaths
From a Freedom of Information request – A9 incidents, accidents and fatalities between January 2020 – 2024, published today, we can report that overall deaths fell dramatically from 12 in 2022 to 4 in 2023.
2 of the deaths took place on non-dual carriage-ways and 2 on the supposedly safer dualled sections.
The FOI result was, I suspect a big disappointment to the opposition MSP or opposition journalist (BBC) who wasted more than £300 of taxpayer money rooting for it.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400397957/
After a very bad year in 2022, as tourists flocked back, when 13 died compared with the 2011-2022 average of 5.4, in 2023, 3 died and 2 of them on the already dualled sections.
Scotland’s roads revealed to be safest in UK
In addition to the above good news on Scotland’s supposed ‘killer road’, two much ignored facts:
First:
As of July 2023, 335 people had been killed on the Perth-to-Inverness stretch of the road since 1979 (an average of 7.6 death per year), 59 of which occurred between 2011 and 2022 (an average of 5.4 deaths per year).
With only 3 in 2023, the trend, regardless of supposed ‘SNP betrayal’ is clear.
Second:
Compared to the rest of Britain, however, Scotland is the safest area overall, with 1.32 road accidents per 1,000 of the population, compared with 1.51 in Wales and 2.05 in England.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/23424294.argyll-bute-scotlands-deadliest-roads/
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brown_(Scottish_activis
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The BBC–Broadcasting Bullsh!t to Colonies. Run by non-Scots in Scotland.
We are England’s last colony (milch cow) and they dont want to lose us.
Well actually, the common English folk don’t mind independence, but the Anglo-Brit Westminster elite are desperate to keep using our bankcard.
gavinochiltree
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