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HIGHLAND DRIVERS MORE AT RISK OF FATAL ACCIDENT, SAYS AA
IAIN RAMAGE
09:00 - 09 December 2005
High fuel prices and an appalling record of road fatalities will take its toll on Highland tourism, a leading motoring organisation warned yesterday.
The AA has added its weight to a campaign for politicians to tackle a series of associated issues, including the disappearance of petrol stations priced out of business by supermarket rivals. The latest concerns have focussed on research showing the Northern Constabulary force area has the highest fatal accident rate per vehicle mile in Scotland.
Neil Greig, of the AA Motoring Trust, said: "As an individual you are at more risk of being involved in a fatal accident in the northern police area than anywhere else in Scotland. That does not mean to say that when you look at the bare numbers they are higher in the Highlands. They will always be higher in Strathclyde, Lothian and so on but, particularly for fatal accidents, the Highlands comes out very poorly."
He said there was a range of contributory factors, including the weather and the distance the emergency services can travel to reach the scene of remote accidents. Mr Greig said: "We need to look at the Scottish Executive working with Highland Council and other bodies to tackle high fuel prices because that is a major challenge for Scotland."
In 2003, 36 people died on Highland roads. Last year's toll was 32 while, so far this year, 23 people have been killed.
Paul Smith, of the Safe Speed campaign, claimed roads become safer as they get busier.
"If you put twice as much traffic on the roads you don't get twice as many accidents," he said. "The reason is that traffic flows become generally more predictable.
"A pattern we find a lot in Scotland is drink-driving. People think they can get away with it and traffic police are more dispersed here because the area is large and the roads are comparatively quiet."
He said part of the solution was improved safety messages, specifically targeting foreign drivers.
Northern Constabulary road policing inspector John Smith pointed to three key causes of the problem. He said: "There have been a number of fatalities involving foreigners but there are more fatalities in our area caused through drink-driving, failure to wear seatbelts and inappropriate speeds."
Concerted pressure by various companies, individuals, pressure groups, Highland Council and leading north politicians has so far made no impact on the area's fuel-cost crisis. Mr Greig's reading of the situation was gloomy.
"All our surveys are saying the same thing - the cost of motoring is the big issue for drivers. If you're perceived as a high-cost area you're going to lose out," he said.
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