A96 road accident rates: EIR release

Information requested

Comparable figures to those released within FOI release 202300369196, for the A96 for period 2019-2021, or as up-to-date as possible, along the accident rates of sections of the A96 set out in the three numbered points below?

If there is no directly comparable update available to the figures for the A96, please supply the most recent figures/analysis by Transport Scotland that provide similar information on the accident rates of sections of the A96 set out below.

1. Please could you release any comparable up-to-date figures for the A96, between the Haudagain Roundabout and Raigmore Interchange.

2. Please could you release any comparable up-to-date figures for the A96 broken down to individual links, concurrent and without gaps, between the Haudagain Roundabout and Raigmore Interchange.

3. Please could you release any comparable up-to-date figures for the A96, between the Haudagain Roundabout and Raigmore Interchange, broken down by A96 dualling sections: Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass); A96 Hardmuir to Fochabers; A96 East of Fochabers to East of Huntly; A96 East of Huntly to Aberdeen, running concurrently and without gaps. 

Response

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.

Response to your request

To aid with my response I have retained the numbering from your request above.

1 & 2 - Please see Annex A to this response for a copy of the most recent accident rates for the A96 trunk road, broken down by link, that we hold.

Accident rates are calculated as part of our annual road safety assessment process and are based on a 3 year period. It should be noted low traffic flows or short section lengths may skew the accident rate and therefore these are considered on a link by link basis by experienced road safety engineers through the annual road safety assessment process.

3. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. We do not have the information you have requested because do not hold accident rates for the A96 trunk road, between the Haudagain Roundabout and Raigmore Interchange, broken down by A96 dualling sections listed above.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about accident rates on the A96 trunk road, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

However, you may be interested to note that the following available links provide historic details on accident rates specific to the individual schemes. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Please note that there is no equivalent DMRB report for the section between East of Fochabers and East of Huntly.

Scheme name: A96 Inverness to Nairn including Nairn bypass Scheme
Name of file: DMRB Stage 3 Report - Volume 1 – Main Report and Appendices
Link: a96-i-n-dmrb-stage-3-report-part-2-vol-1-main-report.pdf (transport.gov.scot)

Scheme name: A96 Hardmuir to Fochabers Scheme
Name of file: DMRB Stage 2 Assessment Report - Hardmuir to Fochabers - A96 Dualling Volume 1 – The Scheme and Engineering Assessment, Part 1
Link: A96PHF-MMS-GEN-00000-RP-Z-00022 (transport.gov.scot)

Scheme name: A96 East of Huntly to Aberdeen Scheme
Name of file: DMRB Stage 2 Assessment Report – East of Huntly to Aberdeen - A96 Dualling, Volume 1 – The Scheme and Engineering Assessment, Part 1
Link: A96 Report Template (transport.gov.scot)

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EIR 202300376049 - Information Released - Annex A

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1 page PDF

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129.3 kB