Scotland’s transport minister will order roads chiefs to draw-up a blueprint to dramatically improve safety on Moray’s “whisky highway”.
Humza Yousaf travelled to Speyside yesterday to see for himself the gauntlet being run by HGV drivers on narrow sections of the A95.
The minister rode in the cab of a McPherson of Aberlour lorry as it tried to squeeze past another vehicle from the fleet near Craigellachie.
And after stepping out of the passenger seat, Mr Yousaf vowed he would immediately ask Transport Scotland to examine potential upgrades for the route, which could include carriageway widening and hacking back vegetation.
Last night, McPherson director Martin Brown insisted he would keep the pressure on officials to ensure improvements were made.
He said: “We need to make sure they don’t lose sight of it.
“It’s a very busy road. Some places in particular are in need of an urgent upgrade. It’s a road that needs money spent on it.
“It’s not all bad but it’s very narrow in places.
“Our drivers need to take a great deal of caution on it. It was built a long time ago and just isn’t designed for the vehicles that use it now.”
McPherson spends about £1,000 every week replacing wing mirrors on cabs that have been smashed by vehicles travelling in the opposite direction, or from clipping overhanging trees.
The largest of the firm’s HGV’s are more than 8ft wide, but require an extra 3ft of clearance to allow space for their big wing mirrors.
Every year about four lorries from the firm’s 220-strong fleet topple over on the Keith-Aviemore route, putting the £200,000 cabs and trailers at risk of being written off.
Issues regularly highlighted by drivers include vegetation growing wild and affecting visibility and subsiding verges.
Yesterday, Mr Brown arranged for two vehicles to pass each other on the trunk route as a demonstration for the minister.
One was almost on the grass verge as it slowed to a crawl to edge past the other, which was up against a road-side barrier.
Mr Yousaf said: “It was a very interesting experience to get the real-life view from the cab to see the pinch points first-hand.
“The drivers are very experienced but, that being said, it’s also an important route and we should go back to Edinburgh to see where we can make interventions.
“I’m not promising the earth, at a time of financial constraints, but there is a broad spectrum of small and larger interventions that can be made.
“The whisky industry is worth £5billion nationally – half of that comes from Speyside so it’s a route of national importance.”
McPherson is one of the biggest hauliers in the Speyside whisky industry carrying Scotland’s national drink to the central belt to be exported as well as ingredients for local distilleries.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead insisted the busy haulage route was as important to the region as dualling projects on the A96 Aberdeen-Inverness road and the A9 between the Highland capital and Perth.
He said: “I often refer to the A95 as Scotland’s whisky highway. The narrowest sections require attention. It’s not just an issue for businesses but also for commuters and tourists visiting Speyside.
“When you have HGVs passing each other, with their wing mirrors almost touching each other at times, it clearly highlights steps are needed to make the road safer.”
