Sir, – I read with interest a recent article in The Press and Journal quoting Maggie Chapman and her opinions regarding the A96 road between Aberdeen and Inverness. It seems she has knowledge of traffic management and how such management should be utilised on the said route.
Doubtless, she has traversed the route many times and has managed to arrive at her destination, either Aberdeen or Inverness or locations between those locations, unscathed. I would not want her to experience any injury, or have damage to the vehicle she travels in.
Unfortunately, some drivers and passengers are not so fortunate.
Ms Chapman suggests that the inherent dangers on the route between the main locations, Aberdeen and Inverness, can be adequately or best dealt with by the installation of average-speed cameras. The motive for her suggestion is to replace the need for the route to be configured as a dual carriageway.
Presumably, with her apparent knowledge of traffic management, her ability to prophesy that the introduction of a dual carriageway would result in increased collision accidents will be founded on fact? With this knowledge, it would be of interest for her to suggest or even stipulate what the average speed should be for the journey between the two main centres or for particular sections of the road.
Between Aberdeen and Inverurie, a distance of about 12 miles, the route is configured as a dual carriageway and it would be interesting to know if in fact there is a higher incidence of serious road accidents on that stretch of the A96.
As a basic in road safety, drivers recognise that with liberal white line marking on road surfaces, the road configuration poses greater danger than roads which have maybe just got broken white lining “separating” opposing traffic.
There are sections of the route which are inherently dangerous, and this is recognised as the road surface is marked with double continuous white lining. Those parts have quite tight corners/bends and are not in keeping with a main trunk road carrying heavy traffic.
Between Aberdeen and Inverness, there are sections of the road that include a few overtaking lanes.
Those sections of the route are “sticking plasters” and have limited positive effect on safe progress on the route.
There are instances when overtaking vehicles are driven in such a way as to “beat” perhaps strings of traffic before the bottleneck effect when nearing the end of the overtaking lanes.
Drivers may be to blame for bad driving, but road configuration is relevant.
When a person is seriously or fatally injured, blame does not cure the cause or effect of a road collision/accident.
On a recent visit to Inverness since Ms Chapman’s suggestion, I used an onboard calculator, part of my vehicle equipment, and found that the average speed for my return journeys was 35 miles per hour.
The section of the route between Aberdeen and Inverurie, as a dual carriageway, did allow reasonable progress, having a positive effect on the overall average speed. But for the rest of the journey, in both directions, drivers have to negotiate stretches of the route marked in places as indicated with continuous double white lines.
My journey from Aberdeen to Inverness was during daylight and the roads were dry.
The traffic was quite heavy, particularly when approaching or leaving some of the towns encountered en route.
My passenger at times took to counting the vehicles in the strings of traffic, and the count was frequently between 30 and 40 vehicles, a large proportion being heavy goods vehicles.
On occasions when clear of town speed limits, my progress was at times reduced to 25 miles per hour.
Fortunately, on this occasion of the journey to Inverness, I did not see seriously bad driving with dangerous overtaking etc.
I wish that was always the case. A misjudgment on this road can have serious or fatal results.
This journey took about two-and-a-half hours. Of perhaps interest, two-and-a-half hours travelling south from Aberdeen would take a motorist to the likes of Glasgow, which is substantially a greater distance than that of Aberdeen to Inverness.
Having completed my purpose of travelling from Aberdeen to Inverness, I later made the return journey. By this time, darkness had fallen. What was a very unpleasant trip north to Inverness, paled to insignificance on the return to Aberdeen.
The traffic was heavy and, of course, vehicles were driving under the illumination of headlamps. The frequency of the strings of traffic was as described and, during the journey from Inverness to Aberdeen, I rarely could put my headlamps on full beam. This return journey took about three hours.
The notion by Ms Chapman that the introduction of a dual carriageway between Aberdeen and Inverness would unnecessarily increase traffic between the centres, as though people would visit one or other destination for a purposeless jaunt, is doubtful nonsense.
People who have to regularly travel the route, particularly during the hours of darkness, must at times wonder if the road authorities, which unfortunately are connected to government agencies, have any idea of the reality of the situation.
If a road such as the A96 was in existence in central or south Scotland, between two main centres, there would be a public outcry and the “traffic managing” politicians would be forced into positive action. The obvious result would be the creation of a dual carriageway, as we can encounter when travelling south from Aberdeen to Dundee, Perth and beyond.
Duncan Watson, Newburgh Way, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.
Why have ferries not been replaced?
Sir, – I totally agree with John Godsman’s letter in Saturday’s P&J regarding the replacement of the ferry boats for the islands!
This has been going on for about seven years and, as we all know, things WILL wear and require to be replaced!
Why has this not been done? Well said, John!
Sybil Wilkie, Mansefield Place, Banchory.
Help the people who need it
Sir, – From this month, pensioners born before September 1942 receive £600 for help with winter and cost of living. If they are born after that until 1956, they receive £500 – a great help for those just on their pensions. But for the rich, such as millionaires and most of the House of Lords, who get paid £330 a day just to attend, it is most unfair.
The money paid is to help the people in need, not to help the people who don’t need it.
Don McKay, Provost Hogg Court, Torry, Aberdeen.
Senseless to throw away cash
Sir, – If there’s one thing that’s worse than a politician virtue-signalling, it’s when they do it with five million quid of our money.
So what would that money actually do? Just bunging cash in the hope that it will impress other politicians or somehow assuage the conscience is meaningless – it would only end up in some dictator’s Swiss bank account.
Certainly, we have a duty to help those in danger, for example, island nations such as Tonga or the Maldives. But this should be done with technology and assistance such as building sea defences or whatever the situation requires.
Throwing away millions when John Swinney is planning major cuts is not just senseless, it is criminal.
H Martin, Denside of Durris Road, Maryculter.
Bus farce going to push fans into cars
Sir, – On Friday evening, my wife and I decided to take the bus to Pittodrie for the Aberdeen v Hibs game.
As my wife was struggling with a painful back, we were able to take the number 13 service almost door to door to the stadium and avoid parking and walking to the game.
All went well on the outward journey and, after a successful Dons performance, we thought we should be able to complete the evening with a simple return journey and subsequently went to the 13 bus stop on Links Road.
We were alerted on arrival at the stop by a gentleman who had been waiting for a bus some 20 minutes after its scheduled arrival time of 21.24. However, on the First Bus app, there was a bus due at 21.54. Following the bus on the First Bus app, we could see it was delayed but at least we were confident of its arrival.
How wrong could I be?
As the app indicated the bus was due, we could see it driving along Links Road – and subsequently turning right along a road to King Street, prior to it arriving at our stop.
The bus had obviously been rerouted but was there any mention of this at the bus stop? No! Was there any mention of this on the First Bus app? No! Was there any message of this on the AFC communications encouraging supporters to take the bus? No!
We subsequently had to walk into town and take an alternative bus home, arriving almost an hour later than scheduled.
Will I be taking a bus to any future games?
Absolutely not. I will be more than happy to take the car, pollute the atmosphere, congest the roads and ensure I get home at a decent time.
George Henderson, Woodstock Road, Aberdeen.
No joined-up thinking at beach
Sir, – As a former Aberdeen resident and critic of the city council, I must say they plumbed the depths of stupidity on Friday night.
I made my customary pilgrimage to Pittodrie to watch the Hibs game, which everyone knew, due to obvious reasons, was bound to attract a sizeable crowd.
So, what does the council in their wisdom decide to do?
They put up “no waiting” signs along the beach due to the firework display due to take place 24 hours later.
We were fortunate that we arrived at 6pm and were just able to obtain a space, unlike many others who missed the kick-off.
This only goes to show the disregard the powers that be have for football supporters of all hues. Surely it wouldn’t have been too much trouble for signs to be put up on the day?
Alan McPherson, Grant Street, Cullen.
Half-baked harbour project
Sir, – Aberdeen’s South Harbour may be nearing completion, but nobody should take the claims as a given.
Aside from its exorbitant costs to the taxpayer and the all-too-obvious loss of public amenity, not one of the self-interested people involved seems to care about the true environmental impacts of this latest controversy to blight the city.
Not only will the city be plagued by more dirty diesel commercial traffic increasing pollution, but the addition of all that extra marine diesel will do wonders for the city council’s claims about caring for the planet.
Add in the noise from all of this, and the South Harbour will be seen as another insane decision from all behind it.
And that’s before one of the biggest business case blunders of all is considered.
That of maybe, just maybe, being able to justify such a project by building the case of attracting cruise ships as part of understanding the true value of tourism, a value not measured in pounds sterling.
And did they? As usual, no. But then, with imbeciles who’ve opaquely pushed the project and half-baked others associated with it, what can the city really expect?
Ian Beattie, Baker Street, Aberdeen.
Gardeners happy to pay charge
Sir, – What a load of rubbish Frank Braeside is saying in his letter ‘Scrap Garden Waste Charge!’
I live in Seafield and have a very large garden, with hedges, trees and grass.
I am 84 years old and still love my garden.
I also still feel fit enough to look after it.
I don’t drive, my husband died 10 years ago.
I gladly pay my £30 charge and fill my bin every fortnight.
Thank goodness the council pick it up for a fee. He asks what do others do?
As far as I can see all around me, people pay the fee.
Hazel.
Tories in power for far too long
Sir, – On November 17, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is going to announce drastic cuts in government spending measures to get the country back on track.
The people of this country must wake up because it is not our fault we are in this mess.
In my opinion, it is the previous prime minister who caused the problem with the insane tax cuts she proposed.
They then caused the markets to panic, sent the Bank of England to start a bailout to stop the rot, and all caused by a Tory Government.
Now they ask the people to help them to the rescue, again.
We are being punished once more by a government who have been there too long and have completely lost direction on how to govern.
Don McKay, Provost Hogg Court, Torry.
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