A MOTORCYCLIST was airlifted to hospital following a horrific smash on a north-east road.
The rider suffered serious head injuries when his white Suzuki bike and a green Volkswagen Golf car collided on the edge of Fraserburgh.
Wreckage from the high-performance bike was strewn across a wide area yesterday as the mangled remains came to a rest on the pavement.
Campaigners said last night that the incident underlined the need for improved safety measures on the main route into the Broch.
The accident happened about 11.05am in Maconochie Road, outside the Kessock Service Station.
Police sealed off a stretch of the road from the roundabout at South Harbour Road to the junction at James Ramsay Park for several hours as the wreckage was cleared and officers carried out inquiries into the collision.
The front of the car was badly damaged by the impact but the driver was not thought to have been injured.
An ambulance helicopter landed at the scene and the crew took the biker, believed to be in his 30s, to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment.
Banff-based Inspector Grant McCutcheon said: “Although inquiries are still ongoing, it would appear that one of the vehicles was turning into the filling station at the time.
“The rider of the motorbike was airlifted to hospital with a significant head injury.
“The road remained closed for some time to allow accident investigations to be carried out.
“The driver of the car, who was also in his 30s, was from Fraserburgh, while the motorcyclist was from Sandhaven.
“The biker was, thankfully, wearing all the required protective equipment at the time of the collision.”
An ambulance spokeswoman said: “We dispatched the air ambulance helicopter based in Inverness to the scene of a road collision in Fraserburgh.
“The aircraft took a male in his 30s to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with head injuries.
“No one else at the scene required our assistance.”
The helicopter took off for ARI about 12.40pm, leaving one road ambulance at the scene.
Police accident investigators arrived a short time later to begin examining the area and the wreckage to try to piece together what had happened. The road eventually reopened about 3.30pm.
A police spokesman said the motorcyclist’s injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Yesterday’s collision happened close to the spot where a man was knocked down and killed by a car days before Christmas.
Fraserburgh and district councillor Charles Buchan said it highlighted the need for action to make the area safer for motorists and pedestrians.
“Things have been moving to try to make this road safer and it is a shame that there has been another bad accident,” he said.
“First and foremost, my thoughts go to those involved and their families and I hope the injured man makes a full and speedy recovery.”
He said he had been working with the roads department to try to lower the speed limit on Maconochie Road since before the fatal accident in December.
“At the moment, it is a 40mph limit there, but the community council raised concerns about this due to the increasing amount of traffic from the big Tesco and from both the Gray and Adams sites,” he said.
“It is complicated because it is a trunk road and any changes must be approved by Transport Scotland, but I have an assurance from the roads department that this will be in the new transport plan for the town which will come before us in May and if it is approved the limit could be dropped to 30mph.”
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