A far north councillor has called for action at an accident blackspot on the north’s most notorious road.
Councillor Willie Mackay has said that Borgue between Dunbeath and Newport on the A9 is becoming one of the dangerous on the road.
He has flagged up the case of farmer James Miller who owns land in the area and has had several drivers damage the dry stone walls which protect his land from the trunk road.
Mr Miller has had to repair the walls and gates three times in 18 months because of accidents.
Landward Caithness independent member Mr Mackay said he is concerned that the farmer’s large herd of cattle and cheviot ewes could be in danger and has called on road managers Bear Scotland to act on the quarter mile stretch of the road.
Both councillor and farmer insist that the road needs to be realigned or new barriers put in place to protect the fields.
Bear Scotland has previously indicated that new signage and a grippier road surface was the best option for improving the route and put in New chevron signs last year.
However, Mr Mackay said that these have actually contributed to problems as a distraction to drivers after a recent spate of four accidents.
Mr Mackay said: “This is not the first time that this has been brought up at traffic road safety seminars throughout the county where the trunk road authority and sometimes the local authority insist that improved signage and additional warning signs are the best way to improve driver behaviour.
“What they should do is listen to the man on the ground, or the shop floor, who is there every day and lives and works around the location and learn from his valuable knowledge of watching and seeing bad driving on a daily basis.
“In other words get barriers installed to stop the cars going off the A9 road endangering life and limb and help Mr Miller’s torturous battle in receiving insurance compensation to help with the repairs.”
Mr Miller said of the four recent accidents, two had left the scene before the farmer arrived, leaving him to foot the bill for repairs himself.
Average repairs for dry stone walls cost around £100 per metre.
Mr Mackay added: “I intend to meet up with Bear Scotland traffic and road safety engineer for the area Mr Stephen Urquhart to discuss this growing concern.”
A spokesperson for BEAR Scotland said: “The safety of motorists is our priority and we plan to undertaken a survey on this stretch of road in the coming weeks.
“We would be happy to meet Mr MacKay to discuss his concerns.”