A far north mother is campaigning to improve safety for primary pupils catching the school bus on the trunk road in their home village.
Anne Gunn fears an accident will happen unless steps are taken to slow traffic at pick-up times in Spittal, nine miles south of Thurso.
Her nine-year-old daughter Ava is one of five youngsters who have to cross the A9 to get on the bus taking them to Halkirk school.
The bus shelter is sited near a sharp left-hand bend to the south and at the bottom of an incline to the north on the road which is subject to a 50mph limit.
Trunk road operator Bear Scotland said they were in early discussions about making the crossing safer.
“There’s not much warning and 50mph is quite fast when you are trying to cross the road at that point,” Mrs Gunn said yesterday.
“When a lorry goes dirling past you at 50mph, it’s pretty frightening.
“We also find that after the bus stops to pick the kids up, traffic overtakes it despite the solid white lines on the road.”
Mrs Gunn, 46, of Olryth, Spittal, said the stretch is busy at the time with people going to work as well as traffic from the morning Orkney ferry going south.
She said: “It would be good to get some more consideration from motorists and to have signs warning people that school pupils are about.
“It would be good if there were some action before there is an accident.”
Mrs Gunn points out that the bus shelter has been demolished several times in road accidents in recent years.
The call for action is backed by Halkirk and District Community Council and Highland Councillor Kar Rosie.
Local community councillor Linda Levack said that the speed limit is regularly flouted by motorists traveling through Spittal.
“There’s no doubt it is pretty dangerous for kids crossing the road to the bus shelter and we have been calling for safety measures,” she said.
A spokesman for trunk road contractor Bear Scotland said they had plans and would liaise with local counicllor Karl Rosie about them.
He added: “Trunk road safety is our top priority and we’re looking into potentially installing a short length of footway and appropriate warning signs which will help improve road safety for pedestrians.
“Discussions for these are still in the early stages and we will liaise with Councillor Rosie once a decision has been made.”
