A road safety row has broken out in Angus after figures revealed 85 people have been hurt on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven in recent years.
Conservative North East MSP Bill Bowman uncovered the personal injury figure before he stood down from office ahead of the forthcoming general election.
Tory North Angus and Mearns candidate Braden Davy highlighted the figures as he launched a road safety petition focusing on the stretch of dual carriageway close to Laurencekirk and Brechin.
Road surface ‘resembles the 1900s’
He said: “The crash statistics also show why improvements need to be made at areas such as Brechin which is repeatedly plagued with potholes and a road surface that resembles the 1900s rather than 2021.
“No more dither and delay, residents of these communities as well as motorists deserve better than the underfunded infrastructure that is currently being given by the SNP who refuse to get out of first gear.”
The Scottish Government released the figures after Mr Bowman submitted a question to transport secretary Michael Matheson.
They show dozens of crashes have occurred resulting in drivers and passengers being injured on the route since 2016.
Despite the pandemic and restricted travel, a total of 12 injury-related accidents happened on the A90 between Stonehaven and Dundee last year.
In 2019, that figure reached 22 – a five-year high.
While in 2018, 15 crashes occurred resulting in someone being injured on the road.
Mr Davy, a Forfar councillor, has also urged the Scottish Government to publish a timescale for completing the Laurencekirk junction upgrade.
Tories playing ‘petty politics’ with road safety
SNP Angus North and Mearns candidate Mairi Gougeon accused Mr Davy of playing “petty politics” with an important issue.
She said: “I coordinated a meeting at the end of 2019 with Transport Scotland, BEAR Scotland and Mearns Community Council so that we could discuss various issues at points along the A90.
“A number of actions came out of this productive meeting which the transport authorities are continuing to pursue.”
She said there had been delays to the Laurencekirk Junction project due to objections raised by Aberdeenshire Council.
“Which his [Mr Davy’s] Conservative colleagues lead and which, if he’d done his homework, he would know.
“As an MSP I’ve been actively working to try and improve these issues, rather than politicise these important matters and carp from the sidelines,” she added.
