Government should forget about breaking up the UK and start fixing our roads

Your excellent article regarding the state of Scotland's roads after the criticism from Audit Scotland only spotlights the failings of the Scottish Government in recognising the importance of this vital infrastructure.

Over the past five years I have driven around Greece, Germany, Spain and most recently, Austria. All of these countries have invested in their road networks and make Scotland’s highways seem like that of a third world country. Indeed, the present state of our capital city is a disgrace.

Just why the Scottish Government fails to recognise the importance of having a road network that actually provides a basic level of comfort to the travelling public is beyond me.

We know that our business transport sector is paying a heavy price in maintaining their suspension systems. We know that claims from pothole damage are increasing dramatically.

I know from my experience in frontline care that the sick and injured are constantly complaining about their 
comfort during the journey to hospital.

Yet this Nationalist government is so detached from these realities, preferring instead to focus on their obsession with separating our nation from the rest of the Uk.

The creation of a ministry specifically for road maintenance – preferably overseen by a road engineer – may go some way to at least giving the people of this nation an adequate road network. Maybe even on par with our European partners.

Patrick Borrins

Colinton Grove West, Edinburgh

The SNP’s Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf, is whistling in the dark in response to Audit Scotland’s damning report into the dreadful state of Scotland’s roads (your report, 4 August). Every road user in Scotland has bumped over sufficient evidence to know his claim that road maintenance is a “priority” for the Scottish government is total nonsense.

The truth is that the SNP government has preferred to spend its money elsewhere and is allowing our roads to deteriorate as a result.

The SNP government are at fault for not only the state of our motorways and trunk roads but also the other roads that our local councils are nominally responsible for, because the budgets of 
councils have been knowingly squeezed by the Scottish government as they disproportionately passed on the impact of austerity to local authorities.

Government is about choices, but on road repairs the SNP have been negligently short sighted and Scotland suffers the consequences in a daily, jarring reality.

Keith Howell

West Linton, Peeblesshire