Almost 2,000 accidents and 64% of deaths have occurred on Scottish roads that are in need of urgent upgrades, according to the Conservatives.
The 'shocking' figures relate to eight roads the Tories specified in a recent Holyrood debate, in which they called for the upgrade or dualling of the A1, A9, A96, A75, A77, A82, A83 and A90.
The motion was amended out of all recognition by the SNP and Greens, who substituted a call for less car use, road maintenance and safety, and more investment in public transport.
Between 2016 and 2020, 1,986 accidents took place on those roads and more than 100 of resulted in fatalities.
Analysis of 41 trunk roads shows that 121 deaths out of a total of 198 (64%) occured on roads identified by the party as in need of upgrades.
Scotland’s longest road, the A9, recorded the highest number of accidents at 436 and was followed by the A82 ‘Gateway to the Highlands’ route which had 387. Those roads were also the most deadly with 30 fatalities occurring on each.
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There were 339 accidents on the A90, which runs from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh, through Dundee and Aberdeen including 85 that were serious with 16 deaths.
The A78, which connects Greenock and Prestwick recorded 176 accidents.
In their Holyrood election manifesto, the SNP said it was committed to dualling both the A9 from Perth to Inverness and A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen.
However, the Greens oppose the building of new roads, and have repeatedly objected to dualling the A9 and A96, arguing the work would increase car use and enhance pollution.
The coalition deal between the parties said the SNP and Greens would “maintain distinct positions” on dualling the A96, while “enhancements” go ahead to “improve connectivity between surrounding towns, tackle congestion and “address safety and environmental issues”.
A decision on whether to dual the whole route now depends on an “evidence-based review” due to report next year.
In November last year, Finance Minister Kate Forbes launched a consultation to gauge if further safety improvements are required on the A82, which falls within her Highland constituency area.
The notorious Loch Lomond stretch has benefited from widening, while significant works are planned from Tarbet to Inverarnan.
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Neil Greig, policy director for motoring charity IAM Roadsmart, has suggested that more use of two plus one overtaking lanes and raising the speed limit for HGVs could help cut accidents
Scottish Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Graham Simpson says SNP Ministers must stop bowing to the demands of their “extremist Green” coalition partners and urgently outline plans to improve safety on those eight roads.
He said: “These shocking new figures prove that far too many of Scotland’s key roads are simply not safe enough for drivers who use them.
“We have long been calling for urgent upgrades to take place on these routes. The case for doing so is now undeniable.
“There was a time when SNP Ministers would have agreed with us, but now they are all too happy to bow to the demands of their extremist Green coalition partners, who are hellbent on denying the dualling or upgrading of key routes.
“Not only would this investment in our road network help boost Scotland’s recovery, it would also reduce the risk of drivers being involved in accidents.
“Ministers must wake up to the fact that almost 2,000 accidents occurred in the last five years and that was just on these particular routes.
“Now is the time for SNP Ministers to show they are truly on the side of drivers across Scotland.”
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “£21 million in funding is being provided (an uplift of £17 million) to support delivery of the Road Safety Framework to 2030.
“The Framework has ambitious interim targets where the number of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads will be halved by 2030 with a long term goal where nobody is killed or seriously injured on our roads by 2050.
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“Total expenditure on motorways and trunk roads is £688.3 million for 2022-23. This investment is focused on the critical safety maintenance of our motorways and trunk road network, increasing resilience to severe weather events, and to deliver on our commitment to maintain the trunk road network in line with international best practice.
“We will continue to progress with design and further development of our existing major infrastructure projects to achieve agreed improvements to existing routes including for example, A9 dualling programme, the Haudagain Junction and Maybole bypass.”
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