People living beside a busy north-east trunk route say their fears about another tragedy have not been eased in the two years since a horror crash left three people dead.
On March 12, 2019, a collision involving two cars and a bus at the junction of the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee route and the road to Drumlithie resulted in the deaths of Zaharina Hristova, 37, Silyan Stefanov, 42, and Dimitar Georgiev, 32.
In the aftermath of the incident, there were calls for a review of safety at the spot.
But North East MSP Liam Kerr says little has been done to alleviate concerns since then, and locals continue to tell him about near-misses “on a daily basis”.
The three people killed in 2019 were passengers in a car being driven by Marin Rachev, who pulled out on to the A90 at the junction without giving way.
In February, Rachev was found guilty of causing the deaths by careless driving and jailed for 11 months.
Transport chiefs maintain that no extra measures could have prevented the fatal smash – which was “caused by driver error”.
But they have pledged to “consider” increasing safety at the site in light of residents’ continued concerns that it could only be a matter of time before another serious accident there.
Mr Kerr, of the Scottish Conservatives, said he has been contacted by concerned residents of Drumlithie, who are worried about safety at the junction the incident took place.
Mr Kerr has now written to the Scottish Government’s transport secretary Michael Matheson outlining the need for extra work.
Mr Kerr wrote: “I have written previously outlining concerns the junctions are too short, to the point heavy goods vehicles are finding it difficult to turn, and the need for acceleration and deceleration lanes at the junctions in order for road users to safely comply with speed limits.
“Moreover, there are very unclear road markings, including three conflicting give way signs, causing confusion and incidents.
“Local residents continue to report daily near-misses to me.
“I’m sure you will agree, this is unacceptable and a threat to public safety and life.
“My constituents and local councillors of the Drumlithie area remain deeply concerned about the danger of this junction.”
He added: “The current central reservation is too tight for many of the vehicles which use it, making it extremely dangerous.
“We need solutions – not more delays and surveys – there is a clear problem with the layout of the road which has to be addressed to prevent more atrocious collisions from occurring.”
A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said: “Our accident data shows there have been no injury accidents reported in the last five years except for the tragic accident which claimed the lives of three people in March 2019.
“Following a meeting with Police Scotland and their operating company to discuss the circumstances surrounding this accident, whether the road layout contributed to the accident and if there were any engineering measures which could have prevented the accident, it was confirmed that the accident was due to driver error and no engineering measures were necessary as a result.
“Due to ongoing concerns over access, particularly by larger vehicles, our operating company has reviewed this junction and is in the process of identifying measures to improve road safety and reduce the risk of collisions.
“Improvements to the traffic signs to reduce driver confusion and alterations to the central reserve road markings to assist in vehicle positioning, particularly for HGV’s, are being considered.”
