A9: deadly road or stupid drivers?

[parallelepipete]

SNP are demanding that the A9 is dualled between Perth and Inverness (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4266782.stm).

I drove nearly the whole length of this road last Thursday between 1500 and 1730 and I really haven't got a clue how the A9 is 'deadly'. There are plenty of dual carriageway sections; corner radii are so large on the single-carriageway sections that 80 or 90 mph wouldn't feel uncomfortable (to drivers anyway); all the major junctions have filter lanes and/or underpasses; lines of sight are brilliant compared to most roads. And the traffic was such that I drove at 60 mph almost continuously.

Surely the problem is the impatient and bad drivers, and why should a road be upgraded to suit them? :mad:

[Ich bin ein Mod]

There are plenty of dual carriageway sections;

Yes, but they are often very short, which imo makes it more dangerous having them than not, as two lanes have to merge back into one.

Obviously there is an element of stupid drivers, however iirc there are plenty of speed cameras on the A9, if these (and the high incidence of accidents) are not deterring drivers from being arsey then perhaps for the safety of all road users upgrading it should be looked at.

[pogofish]

They have gone to some lengths to improve things recently, with better warning signs, more active polixe patrols etc but certainly before, some of the very worst blackspots were very badly marked. Mainly now it is down to too many asshole/impaitent drivers but even maintaining a steady safe speed on some stretches can be near-impossible, especially when you get stuck in long queues that are often headed-up by caravans, tractors, lines of trucks, tourists admiring the scenery etc. Much of it is also very exposed & in bad/icy conditions, it can get even scarier. For the main artery of the North & West of Scotland it is a bit underprovided & on certain critical stretches, there is no practical alternative route that does not involve a huge detour. Personally I avoid it like the plague!

Recently saw a bit of old film of The Corries marching down the old A9, into & through Pitlochry, singing one of their songs. Little if any attempt had been made to warn the traffic & cars were just driving-up & passing them. I couldn't help but wonder, how long they might last on todays road! :eek: :D

[pogofish]

From that article:

Transport Minister Tavish Scott said he was frustrated that a planned upgrade of the Ballinluig junction had not been completed.

Funnily enough, that particular junction would be my first choice to illustrate all that is wrong with the road. Despite umpteen revisions to the signing, laning, speed limits, cameras etc the basic bad design of one of the A9's major junctions can't easily be overcome. IIRC, the majority of accidents involve northbound traffic & are attributed to the right turn refuge being largely obscured by a flyover, on a bend, on an incline. Even if you know it is there, you do tend to end-up crawling along the top-lane to avoid running into the end of traffic already queued & just hoping that anything behind you is paying attention! IIRC, the speed cameras here quite regularly record the largest daily toll of offenders in Scotland & the constantly changing sign/lane landscape dosen't help much either.

The current road was also designed & intended for ongoing dualling from the last major rebuild in the late 70's/early 80's, but the issue of little if anything being done since is something else to consider. If they had stuck to schedule, it would probably have been largely complete by now.

[jacobs steel]

SNP are demanding that the A9 is dualled between Perth and Inverness (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4266782.stm).

I drove nearly the whole length of this road last Thursday between 1500 and 1730 and I really haven't got a clue how the A9 is 'deadly'. There are plenty of dual carriageway sections; corner radii are so large on the single-carriageway sections that 80 or 90 mph wouldn't feel uncomfortable (to drivers anyway); all the major junctions have filter lanes and/or underpasses; lines of sight are brilliant compared to most roads. And the traffic was such that I drove at 60 mph almost continuously.

Surely the problem is the impatient and bad drivers, and why should a road be upgraded to suit them? :mad:

As pogo said, I avoid it like the plague, the A9 in certain bits can be a death bed. Good for a buzz ;)

Dual carriage way all the way sounds like natural progression, = less time

What's the difference between a bad and an impatient driver :confused:

[parallelepipete]

As pogo said, I avoid it like the plague, the A9 in certain bits can be a death bed. Good for a buzz ;)

Dual carriage way all the way sounds like natural progression, = less timeSounds like I'm too easily pleased by road quality, and that I used the A9 on an unusually quiet day! Didn't see one tractor and somehow never got held up behind a lorry in a place where it was unsafe to overtake. It'd be nice if they dual-tracked the Perth-Inverness railway first though. I have been held up on that. :(

What's the difference between a bad and an impatient driver :confused:Ah, good question. :) I meant that impatience was one way of being a bad driver.

[jacobs steel]

Sounds like I'm too easily pleased by road quality, and that I used the A9 on an unusually quiet day! Didn't see one tractor and somehow never got held up behind a lorry in a place where it was unsafe to overtake. It'd be nice if they dual-tracked the Perth-Inverness railway first though. I have been held up on that. :(

It's not the good quality road that's causing the problem of 'dangerous' road, it's the sigle lane sections. People, in general, if given a taste of dualcarriageism tend to want to drive that speed all the time, and therefore become reckless. It's only natural ;) If it's made dual carriageway from Edinburgh to Inverness ands further, same limit for better quality as you say :)

[jacobs steel]

Ah, good question. :) I meant that impatience was one way of being a bad driver.

Impatience and the inability to anticipate ;)...and a few other things as well :eek:

[geminisnake]

I second that the bits of dual are too few/short. As pogo said the road has been improved in places but it's a dumb as f*ck idea to have traffic crossing dual carraigeways at all, which was what happened in some places, possibly still does, not been up it for years.

We used the A9 from Perth to Dalwhinnie this summer and it wasn't as bad as it used to be but there will always be some twat who is prepared to take stupid risks for the sake of three car lengths :rolleyes: , but I know what he drives and I know where I can find him :)

In winter it can be a deadly road, imo, but then so can quite a few in Scotland.

[bertifrew]

both......

[Ich bin ein Mod]

both......
Insightful

[stroober]

i blame the tractor driver *shakes fist in general northern direction* :mad:

The main road from aberdeen to fraserburgh/peterhead has the same problems :rolleyes:

[stroober]

http://www.eurorap.org/roadratings/images/big_map_gb_scotland.jpg

from ere

http://www.eurorap.org/roadratings/risk_rate_maps_gb.htm