Just back from a truly wonderful holiday on Speyside in the Scottish Highlands. The weather was perfect and the location has to be one of the most picturesque in Europe, encompasing as it does the Cairngorm National Park.
On our arrival last Saturday, we were diverted off the A9 for a detour near Dalwhinnie where a man and his foster daughter were tragically killed in a three vehicle accident. As a further twist they were on the way to the man’s neice’s funeral. She had died in a car accident earlier in the week.
Today we left Aviemore (having stopped on the way south to pick up some bits and pieces) around 2:00pm and rejoined the A9 to Perth. There was a car transporter a few hundred yards ahead of us. Between us and the transporter there were about 15-20 vehicles and each one was bunched up close to the one in front. I kept about 20 yards between us and the Kia in front. He was about three feet from the Honda in front of him which in turn spent most of the time weaving in and out trying to find an opportunity to overtake (eejit!). Of course we eventually did get to overtake the transporter, ironically on the dual carriageway section near Dalwhinnie (see above). The Kia and Honda arrived in Perth about 5 seconds before us.
As we arrived home, I heard on the news that four more people had been killed (and two injured) in an accident on the A9 near Aviemore approximately one hour after we had been on the very stretch of road. Two vehicles had burst into flames after colliding.
The A9 is regarded as one of the most dangerous roads in the UK. I don’t think the behaviour of many of the drivers on the road does much to improve the situation.
Filed under: Scotland | Tagged: driving, the A9 | 3 Comments »
