Road traffic incidents on A702 between Hillend and Biggar: EIR release

FOI reference: FOI/18/02791  
Date received: 4 October 2018  
Date responded: 14 November 2018

 

 

“I would like to know how many road traffic incidents have occurred and their location on the A702 between the Edinburgh bypass at Hillend and Biggar in the last 5 years.”

To which you clarified on 1 November; 

‘Can we define “incident” as any occasion the police were called to attend a road traffic incident’.

 

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations.  We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. 

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reason why that exception applies is Transport Scotland does not hold information regarding occasions where the police were called to attend a road traffic incident. We do however, have information in relation to personal injury accidents. Please revert to us, if you require this information. 

You may wish to contact Police Scotland at foi@scotland.pnn.police.uk who may be able to help you.

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