A9 HGV speed limit rise considered

Jan 9 2013

Serious consideration is being given to upping the speed limit for HGVs on the road branded the deadliest in Scotland.

Transport minister Keith Brown said he was "looking seriously" at whether the maximum speed for HGVs on the A9 could be increased.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has previously called for the "archaic 40mph HGV speed limit on single carriageway roads" to be changed to 50mph.

The A9 runs from Perth to Inverness and currently has a number of stretches of single carriageway, although the Scottish Government has put forward plans to upgrade it fully to dual carriageway by 2025.

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser has previously claimed there are an average of 200 accidents a year on the road and has branded its death rate the highest in Scotland.

The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP pressed the transport minister on the speed limit in Holyrood.

The Conservative told Mr Brown: "There is an issue on single-carriageway sections of the A9 with slow-moving HGVs behind which long lines of vehicles build up, leading to driver frustration and in some cases that causes accidents."

He urged him: "Will the minister look seriously at this issue of increasing the speed limits for HGVs on the A9, which could help reduce driver frustration and improve the accident rate on Scotland's deadliest road?"

Mr Brown told him: "I am looking seriously at the issue."

But he stressed that safety had to be the "primary consideration" when looking at what speed HGVs should be permitted to drive at.