Inaction over A9 costs lives

TWO weeks ago the lives of a wonderful, beautiful and talented Edinburgh family were tragically torn apart by a head-on collision on the A9 near Newtonmore. To all who use it, this road has long had a loathsome reputation as a killer. Its amalgam of stretches of dual carriageway followed by stretches of single track can often lead to confusion, frustration and desperately dangerous overtaking.

It is well recognised that its relative geographic distance from Westminster (in the past) and the cost of total transformation to dual-carriageway (now) have perpetuated a state of affairs that would not be tolerated south of the Border. This is the main arterial route between Edinburgh and Inverness and the north of Scotland.

Every day that this state of affairs is perpetuated, and which causes the wreckage of other precious lives, is a stain on the reputation of all those who have any influence to change the status quo.

Donald Galbraith, Edinburgh