Number of accidents on A9: EIR release

Thank you for your request dated 12 October under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) for the following information:

“Through freedom of information can I request data on how many incidents have occurred since 1st November 2016 & now on the A9 in total & if I can have a breakdown of how many occurred between the Broxden Roundabout, Perth & the Keir Roundabout?

Can I query what actions TS have taken in light of each of these incidents?

Can I also request data on how many have taken place specifically at South Glassingall Junction?”

To which you clarified on 15 and 18 October that you required information for every accident on the A9 between & including Broxden & Keir Roundabouts. The section of the road includes South Glassingall Junction. In addition, when you referred to incidents in your request, you meant road traffic accidents. 

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.

In response to your request, 148 road traffic accidents occurred on the A9 since 1 November 2016 to 30 March 2018. A total of 35 road traffic accidents occurred on the A9 between the Broxden Roundabout Perth and the Keir Roundabout since 1 November 2016 to 29 June 2018.  

We have no record of any accidents taking place specifically at South Glassingall Junction between 1 November 2016 to 29 June 2018.

Please note that the information provided is based on the current figures available. The following are potential reasons for an accident not appearing on our system:

• Transport Scotland only holds accident information which is provided to us by Police Scotland.
• Transport Scotland does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e. not involving an injury).
• Transport Scotland only holds accident information for the trunk road network.
• The accident information Transport Scotland holds is subject to change. E.g. we receive late returns from Police Scotland, who are responsible for recording details of injury accidents.
• Annual Scottish accident figures are published by Transport Scotland on a yearly basis and can be found by entering Reported Road Casualties Scotland into your search engine.

In terms of safety work undertaken or planned in this area, we have carried out signing and road marking improvements at the A9 Blackford South junction, are in the process of designing safety improvements to the southbound approach to the A9 Keir Roundabout (programmed to be installed this financial year) and are carrying out a study that is investigating various improvement options for the A9 Broxden Roundabout. In addition, whilst not installed within this time period, the average speed camera system became operational in this area in late 2014. The safety impact of this are detailed within the documents available at the following link:

http://a9road.info/resources/publications/