Lorry drivers back calls for increases to A9 speed limit

Individuals who have already had or are about to undergo commercial transport training may be interested to note that calls have been made for changes to speed limits on the A9.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) had previously suggested that the “archaic 40mph HGV speed limit on single carriageway roads” should be altered to 50mph and now transport minister Keith Brown has revealed he is “looking seriously” at whether the changes could be made, the Courier reports.

The road runs from Perth to Inverness and it has a number of stretches of single carriageway. It has a reputation as being one of the most dangerous roads in the UK and Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser has in the past noted there are an average of 200 accidents a year on the highway.

When questioned by Mr Fraser in Holyrood, Mr Brown said: “Safety has to be the first consideration and the only piece of predictive evidence we have so far suggests there might be a marginal disbenefit in safety terms. However, that is if it is carried out on its own, so there might be other things that could be done to ameliorate the effect of that.”

Meanwhile, RHA Scotland and Northern Ireland director Phil Flanders noted that the organisation has been “pushing for” for the speed limit change for years. He added: “At long last we may be getting somewhere.”

Mr Flanders went on to suggest that raising the limit “should make life a lot easier for a lot of people and reduce accidents because it will make road safety better”. He went on to state that the RHA does not have much choice but to continue lobbying for the cause “because the longer it stays like this, the worse it will get”.

The ongoing debate about the A9 will be watched with interest by individuals who are undergoing driver training and who may be required to use this road.