Shock new figures have revealed a dramatic rise in the number of people being killed on Aberdeenshire’s roads.
There were 28 fatalities in crashes in the region between April last year and March this year – compared with 21 in the previous 12-month period.
Last night, the figures were described as “extremely concerning” as police vowed to continue targeting motorists who put their own and other road users’ lives at risk.
And a woman who lost her father in a car crash said those left behind were often forgotten in the aftermath of accidents.
Harry McPherson, 61, died after his Vauxhall Corsa and a Ford Focus C-Max collided on the A952 between Toll of Birness and Mintlaw at Clola.
His partner Patricia, 51, was badly injured and is still undergoing rehabilitation treatment, seven months later.
The couple’s daughter Elaine said: “With a car crash, people forget about it and the people involved. But for us it’s a lifelong pain, and not just a physical one.
“It’s hard to grieve and you’re in suspense while you wait to find out what happened. It’s not fair.
“I only had two members of my family. Now I’ve lost my dad and the brain injury my mum suffered means she cannot drive. There’s a lot about it that’s not fair.”
Meanwhile, Philip Goose, senior community engagement officer at road safety charity Brake, said: “It is extremely concerning to see the number of deaths rising on roads in Aberdeenshire, at the same time as the number of people being caught for driving offences falling.
“This highlights the continued need for frontline traffic police to catch people engaging in illegal and irresponsible behaviour on the roads to save lives.”
Brake’s own figures show that five people die every day on the roads in the UK.
Mr Goose said: “Every one of these deaths is a tragedy.”
Road safety campaigner Ron Beaty, whose granddaughter Erin was struck by a car and left partially paralysed after stepping off a school bus 10 years ago, said: “Road safety is a really complicated situation. It’s a variety of problems and that’s hard to tackle.
“I pass people daily who are on their phones. That’s beyond me – you need to concentrate on the road conditions.
“It’s sad for families. It affects everybody. No one wants to open the door and see two bobbies there with bad news.”
Last night, Chief Inspector Richard Craig said: “Any casualty or fatality is unfortunate. As we’ve seen, the number of people killed or seriously injured – despite proactive work – is still concerning.
“There isn’t a single cause or profile of victims. There isn’t a particular age group of concern and there isn’t a particular location.
“There’s isn’t one factor behind it all – that makes it challenging.”
Chief Inspector Craig, who is police area commander for Aberdeenshire South, said his officers were predominantly targeting people driving at “inappropriate” speeds across the region, as well as enforcing the new, stricter drink-driving limit.
He said: “The big challenge for us is to work with local authorities to challenge drivers, educate them where possible and target drivers who continue to flout the law.”
In one incident in December, a Bulgarian student was killed on the A952 near Toll of Birness in a head-on collision as she travelled to work.
And in January, a 37-year-old father-to-be was killed when he was knocked down by a learner driver in Ballater.
Police have launched a number of education campaigns to promote road safety, including Crash Live events which demonstrate how emergency services respond to serious collisions.