Found this very interesting, and think myself one of the lucky ones who survived driving this road. As a young commercial traveller back in 1950, driving from the full length of the road at least twice a month for over 50 years. Seen many "collisions" I don't call them accidents! Fortunately or was it just luck?, never been involved in any. Retired now at age 88 still drive this road on occasions. Safe driving to all! [oh and by the way, have just passed an age-related driving assessment I firmly believe this should be mandatory for all drivers over the age of 70.
It's great to have the ability to drive, it represents a freedom to go and do what you're able to at your age. My mother is 83(don't tell her I told, lol) and she drives an extended cab pick-up done to the 9's(all the bells and whistles) and she goes to her trailer for the whole summer and loves her independence. She had her assessment last year. It's every 2 years(after 80 years of age) where I live in Ontario, Canada. But there's no way in hell she'd drive highway 401 here, she has avoided it for decades. My father(now recently deceased) on the other hand, gave up driving himself at 80, but I think it had more to do with being an alcoholic than passing the test. RIP dad. Peace.
I used to have to drive the A9 many years ago. In particular the stretch between Perth and Inverness. I know that plans have been set out to convert the whole of the stretch that I have mentioned into dual carriageway. The other thing I would maybe add to this would be to have many more flyovers in order to access junctions on either side. Breathtaking scenery on either side of the A9.
I always liked the A 9. For about seven consecutive years, the kids and I would spend a week or two going all the way around the West and North coasts, camping for a night or two here and there, as we hugged the coast as far as we could [including Skye]; to John O'Groats. Then all the way back to Fleetwood via the A and M 9 by-passing Edinburgh, across to M 74 and M 6. In the tent sometimes on wild rainy nights, we'd have a little meeting with the maps; and I used to let the kids decide what to see etc. The first time we went North West to Ullapool, some other campers asked what are you going into the far Nth West for? There's nothing there. I replied THATS why we're going haha. But the Highlands are wonderful and the people are always very good too. We liked that road to Ullapool at night.; after watching planes at Inverness airport, The deer came down and basically claimed the road.
When the last up grade of the A9 was at the proposal stage(1960's) the then Scottish Office asked all of the then County Road Surveyors offices to come up with proposals as to how the road should be improved. As far as I can recall there was a unanimous response to have it fully dueled from Dunblane to Invergordon as a minimum, but that was rejected due to cost ( a very short term view due to inflationary effects) It was estimated at around £1 - 1.5 Million per mile and up to £3 Million when bridges had to be built. The current costs are now approx. 10 times these figures. The dueling was proposed not just on volume but very much on safety due to the large numbers of foreign visitors that are involved in accidents on the two- way carriageway roads. Yet again the Myopic politicians are to blame for all of the un-necessary deaths and injuries that could have been saved if the advice if the professional Surveyors was acted on instead of so called budgetary restraints !!!
I am totally fascinated that there were so many elderly people who had opinions on the widening of the A9. They are probably those who understand the necessity of it the least, will use it the least, and will complain the most, regardless of which decisions were made. Sigh. Also, the risk of the road being used even more because it becomes bigger is so funny. Like more people suddenly would need to use it because it's bigger? :-)
Travelled this road many times seen a few accidents over the year the worst being a family on holiday killed cutting on to the dual carriageway and were hit by a bus the image of that bus driver sitting motionless in his seat staring through the front of the bus with no windscreen still sticks in my head from 20yrs ago.
When I travel the A9 now and look to the side to see a lane in the woods then remember travelling that as a kid on my way to Inverness, it took us two days. The old A9 is amazingly small and I often wonder how you got cars and buses alongside one another.
single track with passing places serving in either direction, simply means nearest to passing place uses it unless on a hill then downhill traffic use passing place as up hill have right off way.
@@amandahudson431 I think the person that thought of this name and organised it could use the Priory for their . erm, addictions not some pill! But who knows you could be right!
This is the reason we drive down the westside when we leave Lewis. Go down Glencoe and Loch Lomond. You can rely on the SNP to provide reliable transport links. lol Like a reliable ferry service, they are really good at that, still got a ferry in the Ferguson shipyard that they are rolling out any day soon. Gosh i so love the SNP and how they do things for us. Jolly good
Very good and thorough documentary on the famous road. I've driven the A9 numerous times for over 20 years, towing my 8 ft. wide danish caravan. The road is slowly being improved introducing more places with overtaking lanes, and is meant to be fully dualled between Perth and Inverness by 2025. At the same time they avoid the level crossings, which is a good thing. Nice to see so many familiar places along the road.
It's a pity a lot of folk think the A9 ends once you reach Inverness, if you think it's bad you should see it from the Dornoch bridge north where it's basically single track
Driven the A9 thousands of times...I actually used to enjoy the road...I'm not convinced average speed cameras are the correct answer...the road should be dualled....incidentally, a couple of years ago I took as much as I could of what's left of the "old" A9 from Inverness south...it was fabulous!! Roof down and sunshine!
@15:00 she starts to talk about the coach crash. That was my best friend that drove the coach. She is a fantastic girl and a beautiful person. Glad she has made a 90% recovery from it. Plus I also knew the two guys in the van that actually died on scene. 😢😢😢😢
@@grahamlive my heart bleeds, quite selfish view, she has lived her life this is a road improvement that will stop as many accidents and be an improvement for future generations, same as the elderly and their views on independence and not supporting it, you've had your life let the upcoming ones have a better one.
I was sad to see the HGV driver not holding the steering wheel properly. I once had a front tyre blow out on my 6-wheeled tipper, and also a front wheel bearing seize up on my loaded artic when my wife was driving, (at 56mph heading S on the A1 motorway). On both occasions the result of not having both hands on the wheel doesn't bear thinking about! John.
Despite the comments in the programme about people driving too fast, I was pleasantly surprised on my last visit when it was pelting down with rain on a single carriageway stretch near Blair Atholl that cars were only going at about 40 mph and no-one was daft enough to overtake. I am more familiar with the A9 between Dunblane and Perth though and, having travelled along that stretch since the 1970s, the frequent cross-over junctions still give me the creeps, even with the speed cameras.
An increase in HGV speed limit would help, people might wait behind a truck doing 50, they won't sit behind one doing 40 and take stupid risks to get past.
Excellent video. I have driven this road from Fife to Inverness regularly in the past month in a Rigid HGV. The only offenders i found were Artic Drivers tailgating and flashing their lights at me because they were running out of driving time. You would let them pass where their exceeding the speed limit only to pass them a couple miles later when their on a break in a layby. The road is fine, only some of the drivers are the problem. Steve in Fife.
I was caught speeding on the A9 ten years ago. It's frustrating to be stuck behind a timber lorry for mile after mile but it was, and is, no excuse for me hammering past it. I only missed the Ullapool ferry because I was pulled over. I should have set off earlier. If I'd chanced a overtake on single carriageway and got it wrong, I could have taken people with me. I got the next ferry. Not the end of anybody's world.
Dual carriageway crossovers should all be flyovers. They just as well have them on motorways otherwise. Very similar speeds to chance crossing in front of.
@@gunnerbob1855 bull shit Scotland keeps the UK solvent. England has 2 trillion of debt no industry or natural resources and even has to steal her water from Wales. England a failed state in 21st century Europe 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🏴 Wee Angerlanders pathetic bunch.
It's hard to believe that people are complaining about this highway. Where I live in Ontario, Canada, we have the 401. It's the busiest highway in the world, and at 18 lanes, it's one of the widest. At points there're several more lanes if you include on/off ramps, and service roads. I've driven it often, but try to avoid it if I can. Now that is a busy highway, and not for the faint of heart, lol.
Quite a few accidents are caused by foreign visitors forgetting which side of the road they are supposed to be. At the moment the road goes from dual to single carriageway , a couple of American visitors have been fined for this, one a cop! it is now in the process of being made dual all the way from Perth to Inverness, but it will take a few years to complete. I have driven this road almost daily for almost 30 years. I don't know anyone who complains about it.
On the few occasions i,ve driven through Scotland always thought the A9 and other major rds in Scotland were a doddle compared with the South east or even the North west of England.
And here we are in 2024 . And still the goverment have failed to even upgrade this road to dual carriageway even to inverness🤦♂ Although they think that instaling distance cameras will make it safer🤣. The thing that causes accidents is not just speed but frustration. Having a tractor trundling along a road that always bends away from the driver so makes it difficult and dangerous to try over take.
This doesn't happen everywhere in the UK either - Scotland's got a lot of remote, sparsely populated areas. Probably easier for them to drop him off in the next town to arrange his own transport, rather than walk 5-10+ miles.
@56:56 - there are two camps: (1) To build more roads is not the solution! (2) More lanes, more lanes, more lanes! Sorry to break it to those guys - the provision of additional lanes should have no direct connection with space requirements. Bringing the A9 from one lane each way to two is done to provide a continuous overtaking opportunity from end to end which in turn, increases journey reliability - while the outcome may include quicker average journey times, overtaking lanes are about journey reliability, not speed. Busier motorways have 3 lanes each way, but there is still only one traffic lane per direction (Lane 1) - the other two (Lanes 2 & 3) are overtaking lanes which are provided due the the extra demand for overtaking (not space) - for example, Lane 1 on England's M6 might be full of trucks which would inevitably be continuously overtaken by cars etc. which results in traffic (cars at or near 70mph) overtaking traffic (perhaps around 60mph) which in turn would be overtaking even slower traffic (trucks etc.). Those who say "more lanes, more lanes, more lanes" frequently fail to understand to purpose of additional lane provision and those who say "building more roads is not the answer" also fail to understand the purpose of large highways. In the end, roads provide direct and flexible links between communities (even very remote ones) while railways provide high capacity links between and within urban areas as well as fast direct links between major urban centres. That's what integrated transport thinking is - the right tool for the right job! In my mind, the A9 to Inverness should be a Dual 2 Lane Motorway.
the only thing this government is building is personal fortunes and offshore accounts. my road still one lane from last earthquake alaska is bankrupt and politicians just spend more we're going down
was on this road once just plodding along, then i coudnt beleive it .2 danish cars were coming straight at me i flashed like mad they pulled over on there right,in the grass and bushes , or my left,i went sailing past .they were on the wrong side of the road happy as larry .
I’m from Alaska and the tourists make summer driving on the highways just as clogged and dangerous there. So much to see you know, but locals just want to get to town or home. It’s the same everywhere I guess.
I find that the best way to travel the A9 is on a Citylink coach 😆 I hate driving that stretch between Stirling and Perth. I don't have to do it often, so it's a nerve wracking experience when I do.
I’ve heard about this road quite a lot however, I’ve never been that fat north living in the midlands in England. Looking at this, maybe it might be an idea to upgrade the A road to a motorway? Seem to have enough traffic to warrant it!
I've been travelling the A9 to Inverness since the mid-1970s and seen it getting worse by the year. Amazingly, I've never seen an accident despite the 'Chancers' taking big risks. The best journey I ever made between Inverness and Perth was on the parallel bicycle path. It took a whole summer day to do it, but was fantastically relaxing and fun.
I don't normally approve of emotive terms such as " killer road ". However even driving carefully and responsibly, the section of the A9 which varies randomly between single carriageway, dual carriageway and split dual carriageway where you can't physically see the other carriageway, is a recipe for disaster.
It’s not the road. It’s the drivers. I live in the highlands and use the A9 a lot. The amount of idiots who take chances and risk lives is astonishing.
As an American I would say that those highway crossings look very dangerous, then again we seem to be okay with hundreds dying on the roads every day so 🤷🏼
iam retired truck driver and my view about this road is the drivers who dont treat it with respect i used to travel the old A9 in the 60s with my trucks yes it was slow but with very little accidents the old A9 was a pain in the but for some folk you didnt have the opportunity to speed on it anyway only a madman would try that in my experiences most of the accidents occur at the crossings where people chance thier luck at crossing over they should put roundabouts on them or bridge them
Alex never said truer words ,everyone in a rush,,,sadly very true ,,,too many drivers not only risking their own lives but the lives of others, My Mum used to say ,,,better to arrive/10 minutes late than not at all,,,
i had just arrived in scottland and i was driving along the A 75 and an advert on the radio warned that every 30 seconds a driver gets stopped by police for speeding. just as the advert finish the cops pulled me over. be warned
What about Berriedale?? The programme makers conveniently left out this steep section with a hairpin bend, which is a nightmare for trucks and has seen fatalities too.
Reasoning for people over taking lorries, is the speed limit for lorries is 50 but for cars it is 60. I could imagine it is frustrating driving 10 mph below the speed limit
I’ve driven on the A9 several times. There is nothing wrong with the road itself,it’s the way some people drive on it which gives it the reputation as a killer road. Roads don’t cause accidents, careless drivers do.
The road is a terrible design in some places , hard to tell for folk that don't use it what's dual and what's not sometimes. The dualling of it the whole way is long overdue.
Dude are you insane? The road is supposed to be a dual that's why is a death road as the single sections were designed for dueling. That's why they look and feel like the dual section you are on 1 minute earlier. Factor in weather, congestion and tourists, people make the mistake they are on a dual section and increase speed, and overtake. They don't realise they are on the wrong side of the road on a single section. You couldn't design a more dangerous road!
I'm more west coast but I saw something lovely last year. They paint arrows on the road as an aid memoirs to foreign drivers as to which side of the road to drive on, especially each side of junctions where it would be easy to get it wrong. It's a good idea even if it seems to make the road surface fail early. There was much road repair and the crews were out resurfacing and replacing the road markings. We saw one set of arrows that were painted facing the wrong way around and then rather badly corrected with a tar brush. Next day they had been blasted off and redone. Just shows that we can all get it wrong sometimes!
I recently drove from North Shields to Dunfermline and the road (mostly A1) were not fit to drive on. Why do people drive on the fast lane when there is no traffic on the slow lane?
Having driven this road countless times in my HGV, by day and night, I have to say I have never had a problem, except once when a deer almost ran into me. Also to my mind there's no such thing as a dangerous road, it's the dangerous drivers who make a road dangerous.
@@Vinnie101a explain, how is “THE ROAD” itself dangerous. A sharp tool or machine is only dangerous if who ever uses it uses it incorrectly, this is the case of any road , it’s only dangerous because the users don’t use it correctly. .
@@Jacob-64 : Oh, Come On Sean. You have to be joking or ….else….you are completely off track. This is a two-lane road that hasn’t had a major upgrade for over thirty years and has over 50 entry cross points. If you haven’t noticed, roads all over the world have been constructed or changed over the past couple of decades with minimum distractions, and occasional merging lanes instead of many cross points. Authorities provide overtaking lanes, install wire barriers in the middle and generally try to separate traffic going different directions. I’m staggered that someone in the final few days of 2022, fails to comprehend that the it is the mix of weather, roads, vehicle and human error that causes accidents. Of course, there may be one driver that drives in a dangerous manner, but collects other vehicles along the way. Surely, those “innocent” people are entitled to travel on roads fit for purpose, and designed to world best practice. I hope this gets through to you Sean. I’m sure you meant well, but there’s more to road safety than blaming everything on bad drivers.
Still think the average speed cameras the whole way are overkill. Fine having cameras but when u dont have cruise control like me u spend so much concentration checking ur speed its exhausting and that leads to accidents when ur driving 80 odd miles... and the rest if ur driving from England!
The problem is simply the fact that it's not a three lane motorway which it should have been from the start and until it is converted ( which it never will be), these issues will continue, people will die lives will be ruined and all for the sake of frugality
5:56 That is extremely unsafe by modern standards. How come the AP-68 in Spain manages to use overpasses even for the most isolated dirt roads in the most rural places?
2025, that much longer before you get 80 more miles of dual carriageway...jings, crivvins, help ma boab, then what.?..The crazies never stop, the accidents will simply continue. The highlands, most beautiful land in the world, and the road of Hell to get there.
The average speed cameras have been working for a couple of years now and the fall in the number of serious accidents and fatalities has been dramatic. Also, with the truck speed limit raised to 50mph, you now get a much smoother run with less bunching and fewer stupid overtakes. Dualling work is also well under way.
No U turns or right hand turns and only left turns with a long on-ramp are a necessity (but this incurs occasional expensive over or under bridges), dual carriageways rather than an alternating 3rd lane is preferred, both must have a median barrier anyway. Almost motorway standard but without an emergency lane - and no SMART roads.
Oh my... if y'all have issues with that road come to the US. We have places like LA, Huston, Phoenix, New York. It took me 2 1/2 hours to go 68 miles the other day and my husband went 6 miles in 45 minutes. There are often deaths, car b ques, you name it.
The roads in Scotland are like driving in 1970's in England .... they are not busy...the 40 mph hgv restriction is daft because it creates impatient car drivers that can do 60...we just become rolling road block's....very dangerous.
@47:15 - Cyclists complaining as per usual - when they start paying for the roads (it should be sliding scale road tax for all vehicles instead of motor tax), then they might have some credibility. @48:10 - "trying to keep them happy..." I wish the engineers luck with that - I'd tell that lycra brigade to go and take a hike!
I worked on two of the "new" sections way back then (mid-seventies) and most I spoke back then working on it or as a residents felt its whole length should have been duel carrageway and underpasses but in Thatcher's world that was never going to happen
I am a cyclist, and I’m also a motorist, and I also recognize that a lot of cyclists are just overgrown Karen’s. I get it things aren’t perfect but then what is things aren’t perfect in life or even as a driver. As a driver, I have to put up with some twats. But when a cyclist has something that’s not right my God some of them don’t off go on. I’m not all about dangerous situation that’s understandable. A car should always back off because cyclists or four more vulnerable. But a lot of the cyclists I see, are moaning over trivial items or looking for trouble or complaining to the wrong people. I get on my bike. Yes, I get fed up with some near misses. Ive had punchers through bad road surfaces. But sometimes instead of having a chip on your shoulder just have to suck it up. Come on already fellow cyclists come at me By the way, I say this as someone with disabilities that can now only ride a e-bike because of a car that drove into the side of me that put me into a wheelchair for four years and subsequently Still has disabilities 15 years later. Life changing disabilities that forced me to lose my career and my lifestyle but yet I’m here still moaning, less than the average cyclist, And the average car driver. Excluding this rant, of course please people just get on with your life and stop moaning.
I like the truck driver featured in this. Type of guy we need representing us. Nice old school chap. I'd love to meet the guy.
Dress like a schoolgirl and hang about a9 services and you may just get your wish
Go to Popeye's in scrabster, fair chance you'll catch him in there!
Found this very interesting, and think myself one of the lucky ones who survived driving this road. As a young commercial traveller back in 1950, driving from the full length of the road at least twice a month for over 50 years. Seen many "collisions" I don't call them accidents! Fortunately or was it just luck?, never been involved in any. Retired now at age 88 still drive this road on occasions. Safe driving to all! [oh and by the way, have just passed an age-related driving assessment I firmly believe this should be mandatory for all drivers over the age of 70.
It's great to have the ability to drive, it represents a freedom to go and do what you're able to at your age. My mother is 83(don't tell her I told, lol) and she drives an extended cab pick-up done to the 9's(all the bells and whistles) and she goes to her trailer for the whole summer and loves her independence. She had her assessment last year. It's every 2 years(after 80 years of age) where I live in Ontario, Canada. But there's no way in hell she'd drive highway 401 here, she has avoided it for decades. My father(now recently deceased) on the other hand, gave up driving himself at 80, but I think it had more to do with being an alcoholic than passing the test. RIP dad. Peace.
I used to have to drive the A9 many years ago.
In particular the stretch between Perth and Inverness. I know that plans have been set out to convert the whole of the stretch that I have mentioned into dual carriageway.
The other thing I would maybe add to this would be to have many more flyovers in order to access junctions on either side.
Breathtaking scenery on either side of the A9.
The weakest part of any vehicle is the nut behind the steering wheel.
Yeah. Especially when it's loose.
How comes I can break the windscreen with my foot then if I'm the weakest part of the vehicle?
I always liked the A 9. For about seven consecutive years, the kids and I would spend a week or two going all the way around the West and North coasts, camping for a night or two here and there, as we hugged the coast as far as we could [including Skye]; to John O'Groats. Then all the way back to Fleetwood via the A and M 9 by-passing Edinburgh, across to M 74 and M 6.
In the tent sometimes on wild rainy nights, we'd have a little meeting with the maps; and I used to let the kids decide what to see etc.
The first time we went North West to Ullapool, some other campers asked what are you going into the far Nth West for? There's nothing there. I replied THATS why we're going haha.
But the Highlands are wonderful and the people are always very good too. We liked that road to Ullapool at night.; after watching planes at Inverness airport, The deer came down and basically claimed the road.
lovely . It's great letting children decide things when it's appropriate . It's all part of their training .
When the last up grade of the A9 was at the proposal stage(1960's) the then Scottish Office asked all of the then County Road Surveyors offices to come up with proposals as to how the road should be improved. As far as I can recall there was a unanimous response to have it fully dueled from Dunblane to Invergordon as a minimum, but that was rejected due to cost ( a very short term view due to inflationary effects) It was estimated at around £1 - 1.5 Million per mile and up to £3 Million when bridges had to be built. The current costs are now approx. 10 times these figures.
The dueling was proposed not just on volume but very much on safety due to the large numbers of foreign visitors that are involved in accidents on the two- way carriageway roads.
Yet again the Myopic politicians are to blame for all of the un-necessary deaths and injuries that could have been saved if the advice if the professional Surveyors was acted on instead of so called budgetary restraints !!!
Their to busy spending all the money on London projects the rest of the country don’t get a look in especially in Wales 🏴
@@dickiedollop Scotland actually gets markedly more public money per head of population than any region in England (including inner London)
Dual ffs.
Pistols at dawn 😂😂😂
@@daverhodes382 watch out, watch out, the grammar police are about …… cock
I've been learning this in school, and it's advised me to be more careful while on the road.
I am totally fascinated that there were so many elderly people who had opinions on the widening of the A9. They are probably those who understand the necessity of it the least, will use it the least, and will complain the most, regardless of which decisions were made. Sigh. Also, the risk of the road being used even more because it becomes bigger is so funny. Like more people suddenly would need to use it because it's bigger? :-)
Travelled this road many times seen a few accidents over the year the worst being a family on holiday killed cutting on to the dual carriageway and were hit by a bus the image of that bus driver sitting motionless in his seat staring through the front of the bus with no windscreen still sticks in my head from 20yrs ago.
When I travel the A9 now and look to the side to see a lane in the woods then remember travelling that as a kid on my way to Inverness, it took us two days. The old A9 is amazingly small and I often wonder how you got cars and buses alongside one another.
single track with passing places serving in either direction, simply means nearest to passing place uses it unless on a hill then downhill traffic use passing place as up hill have right off way.
If the scenery wasn't so Breathtaking along the A9 maybe people would spend more time watching the Road.
"Rock Ness" hahaha Classic, whoever came up with that should get an award!!!
Either someone was very creative, or they heard how they say it over in Japan. Good name though yeah
Or a lorazepam
@@amandahudson431 I think the person that thought of this name and organised it could use the Priory for their . erm, addictions not some pill! But who knows you could be right!
This is the reason we drive down the westside when we leave Lewis. Go down Glencoe and Loch Lomond. You can rely on the SNP to provide reliable transport links. lol Like a reliable ferry service, they are really good at that, still got a ferry in the Ferguson shipyard that they are rolling out any day soon. Gosh i so love the SNP and how they do things for us.
Jolly good
Whit?? You go down the fort William road? It's much worse!!
alex has been driving on the A9 for 39 years.....is he lost.or has he a very slow car
LOL!!!!! 😂
graham b
Kkkkkkkkkkkk I'm dead. Good one.
LMAOF ROTFL SO VERY FUNNY
Good one!
It's Scotland, so deadly boring it's not worth getting off.
I have driven this road for many years as an HGV driver. The amount of times you see so many with what I called a drivers death wish.
Very good and thorough documentary on the famous road. I've driven the A9 numerous times for over 20 years, towing my 8 ft. wide danish caravan. The road is slowly being improved introducing more places with overtaking lanes, and is meant to be fully dualled between Perth and Inverness by 2025. At the same time they avoid the level crossings, which is a good thing. Nice to see so many familiar places along the road.
It's a pity a lot of folk think the A9 ends once you reach Inverness, if you think it's bad you should see it from the Dornoch bridge north where it's basically single track
I'd like to play golf that way
@@neilfleck4178 What, like a car crash?
No, boring tw## that I am, I do like gokf from time to yime.
Driven the A9 thousands of times...I actually used to enjoy the road...I'm not convinced average speed cameras are the correct answer...the road should be dualled....incidentally, a couple of years ago I took as much as I could of what's left of the "old" A9 from Inverness south...it was fabulous!! Roof down and sunshine!
@15:00 she starts to talk about the coach crash. That was my best friend that drove the coach. She is a fantastic girl and a beautiful person. Glad she has made a 90% recovery from it. Plus I also knew the two guys in the van that actually died on scene. 😢😢😢😢
I had the absolute honour to drive this road thankfully without issue its a beautiful route
We really have to go there! We’re country people too. Looks great! Love from Australia 🇦🇺
56:42. One of those moments that really make you appreciate how lucky you are. Please remember her in your prayers.
Hahaha!! It's a tragedy right enough...
@@grahamlive my heart bleeds, quite selfish view, she has lived her life this is a road improvement that will stop as many accidents and be an improvement for future generations, same as the elderly and their views on independence and not supporting it, you've had your life let the upcoming ones have a better one.
I was sad to see the HGV driver not holding the steering wheel properly. I once had a front tyre blow out on my 6-wheeled tipper, and also a front wheel bearing seize up on my loaded artic when my wife was driving, (at 56mph heading S on the A1 motorway). On both occasions the result of not having both hands on the wheel doesn't bear thinking about! John.
Despite the comments in the programme about people driving too fast, I was pleasantly surprised on my last visit when it was pelting down with rain on a single carriageway stretch near Blair Atholl that cars were only going at about 40 mph and no-one was daft enough to overtake. I am more familiar with the A9 between Dunblane and Perth though and, having travelled along that stretch since the 1970s, the frequent cross-over junctions still give me the creeps, even with the speed cameras.
Arnold Clarke for priminister.. lol
Kris A ha ha yes. Just a bunch of worn out ex hire cars.
Either him or Windy Wilson
An increase in HGV speed limit would help, people might wait behind a truck doing 50, they won't sit behind one doing 40 and take stupid risks to get past.
Excellent video. I have driven this road from Fife to Inverness regularly in the past month in a Rigid HGV. The only offenders i found were Artic Drivers tailgating and flashing their lights at me because they were running out of driving time. You would let them pass where their exceeding the speed limit only to pass them a couple miles later when their on a break in a layby. The road is fine, only some of the drivers are the problem.
Steve in Fife.
All fantastic actors and they all got on together in real life
RIP to all of them
I'll call your A9 and raise you the A1 north of Newcastle
The A6.
I was caught speeding on the A9 ten years ago. It's frustrating to be stuck behind a timber lorry for mile after mile but it was, and is, no excuse for me hammering past it. I only missed the Ullapool ferry because I was pulled over. I should have set off earlier. If I'd chanced a overtake on single carriageway and got it wrong, I could have taken people with me.
I got the next ferry.
Not the end of anybody's world.
Dual carriageway crossovers should all be flyovers. They just as well have them on motorways otherwise. Very similar speeds to chance crossing in front of.
Agree, that is the most stupid mistake not to build them. British roads sux cocks in general.
Spot on...that's what they have been doing on the A1 for the last decade.
No one should be turning right at all on a road like that.
@@GordyFin Scotland is oil rich
Incredible how the road is basically the same as it was when I was wee up there. Scotland is just a wonderful country. It should be a motorway by now.
If London did not steal most of our taxes and oil revenues we would have a decent motorway
@@therealrobertbirchall Och ! Dry yer eyes, if these SNP muppets had a bit of Financial Acumen there wouldn't be a problem..
@@gunnerbob1855 bull shit Scotland keeps the UK solvent. England has 2 trillion of debt no industry or natural resources and even has to steal her water from Wales. England a failed state in 21st century Europe 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🏴 Wee Angerlanders pathetic bunch.
They’re memorised by the countryside. I think he means mesmerised lol.
Nothing about the hundreds of potholes and dipps that wreck your car, but very good documentary
2013 pal, just before the potholes made up the majority of the road "surface"!
The American tourists asking about the Arnold Clark sticker on the back of a car, "is it a politician?"
It's hard to believe that people are complaining about this highway. Where I live in Ontario, Canada, we have the 401. It's the busiest highway in the world, and at 18 lanes, it's one of the widest. At points there're several more lanes if you include on/off ramps, and service roads. I've driven it often, but try to avoid it if I can. Now that is a busy highway, and not for the faint of heart, lol.
Quite a few accidents are caused by foreign visitors forgetting which side of the road they are supposed to be. At the moment the road goes from dual to single carriageway , a couple of American visitors have been fined for this, one a cop! it is now in the process of being made dual all the way from Perth to Inverness, but it will take a few years to complete. I have driven this road almost daily for almost 30 years. I don't know anyone who complains about it.
@@Pitcairn2 I can understand your point and I would be hesitant about driving in your country, at least until I got my bearings.
It's fucking Canada!! Someone's always going to give way to you then apologise for being in your way!!
I live in Northern Wisconsin in the United States.
For the amount of snow they are showing the snow plows or salt trucks won't be called out....
It's probably icy - it looks like the snow is really wet and the road is just warm enough to melt it some before it freezes again.
Eh?
On the few occasions i,ve driven through Scotland always thought the A9 and other major rds in Scotland were a doddle compared with the South east or even the North west of England.
And here we are in 2024 . And still the goverment have failed to even upgrade this road to dual carriageway even to inverness🤦♂ Although they think that instaling distance cameras will make it safer🤣. The thing that causes accidents is not just speed but frustration. Having a tractor trundling along a road that always bends away from the driver so makes it difficult and dangerous to try over take.
LOL In the US if you get pulled over and towed you aint gettin a ride from the Police unless they arrest you.
This doesn't happen everywhere in the UK either - Scotland's got a lot of remote, sparsely populated areas. Probably easier for them to drop him off in the next town to arrange his own transport, rather than walk 5-10+ miles.
@56:56 - there are two camps:
(1) To build more roads is not the solution!
(2) More lanes, more lanes, more lanes!
Sorry to break it to those guys - the provision of additional lanes should have no direct connection with space requirements. Bringing the A9 from one lane each way to two is done to provide a continuous overtaking opportunity from end to end which in turn, increases journey reliability - while the outcome may include quicker average journey times, overtaking lanes are about journey reliability, not speed. Busier motorways have 3 lanes each way, but there is still only one traffic lane per direction (Lane 1) - the other two (Lanes 2 & 3) are overtaking lanes which are provided due the the extra demand for overtaking (not space) - for example, Lane 1 on England's M6 might be full of trucks which would inevitably be continuously overtaken by cars etc. which results in traffic (cars at or near 70mph) overtaking traffic (perhaps around 60mph) which in turn would be overtaking even slower traffic (trucks etc.). Those who say "more lanes, more lanes, more lanes" frequently fail to understand to purpose of additional lane provision and those who say "building more roads is not the answer" also fail to understand the purpose of large highways. In the end, roads provide direct and flexible links between communities (even very remote ones) while railways provide high capacity links between and within urban areas as well as fast direct links between major urban centres. That's what integrated transport thinking is - the right tool for the right job! In my mind, the A9 to Inverness should be a Dual 2 Lane Motorway.
the only thing this government is building is personal fortunes and offshore accounts. my road still one lane from last earthquake alaska is bankrupt and politicians just spend more we're going down
We've been travelling up the A9 for years. The road must be massive or does someone want to tell them they are going round in circles.
was on this road once just plodding along, then i coudnt beleive it .2 danish cars were coming straight at me i flashed like mad they pulled over on there right,in the grass and bushes , or my left,i went sailing past .they were on the wrong side of the road happy as larry .
did the have danish flags on the roof of the cars
I’m from Alaska and the tourists make summer driving on the highways just as clogged and dangerous there. So much to see you know, but locals just want to get to town or home. It’s the same everywhere I guess.
caramba Murray 😳
@@columbmurray Spoken like a true German!
I find that the best way to travel the A9 is on a Citylink coach 😆 I hate driving that stretch between Stirling and Perth. I don't have to do it often, so it's a nerve wracking experience when I do.
I’ve heard about this road quite a lot however, I’ve never been that fat north living in the midlands in England. Looking at this, maybe it might be an idea to upgrade the A road to a motorway? Seem to have enough traffic to warrant it!
It reminds me of the North South, Welsh Route 66 - the A470, also through beautiful scenery but, the A9 has a lot more traffic on it.
Lovely scenery..
I've been travelling the A9 to Inverness since the mid-1970s and seen it getting worse by the year. Amazingly, I've never seen an accident despite the 'Chancers' taking big risks. The best journey I ever made between Inverness and Perth was on the parallel bicycle path. It took a whole summer day to do it, but was fantastically relaxing and fun.
I don't normally approve of emotive terms such as " killer road ". However even driving carefully and responsibly, the section of the A9 which varies randomly between single carriageway, dual carriageway and split dual carriageway where you can't physically see the other carriageway, is a recipe for disaster.
It’s not the road. It’s the drivers. I live in the highlands and use the A9 a lot. The amount of idiots who take chances and risk lives is astonishing.
Thanks for the upload!
As an American I would say that those highway crossings look very dangerous, then again we seem to be okay with hundreds dying on the roads every day so 🤷🏼
"Did ye see whit happened ?" "Ooh, no, no, no !"
iam retired truck driver and my view about this road is the drivers who dont treat it with respect i used to travel the old A9 in the 60s with my trucks yes it was slow but with very little accidents the old A9 was a pain in the but for some folk you didnt have the opportunity to speed on it anyway only a madman would try that in my experiences most of the accidents occur at the crossings where people chance thier luck at crossing over they should put roundabouts on them or bridge them
Alex never said truer words ,everyone in a rush,,,sadly very true ,,,too many drivers not only risking their own lives but the lives of others,
My Mum used to say ,,,better to arrive/10 minutes late than not at all,,,
i had just arrived in scottland and i was driving along the A 75 and an advert on the radio warned that every 30 seconds a driver gets stopped by police for speeding. just as the advert finish the cops pulled me over. be warned
I remember the first day it opened there was a massive accident with fatalities just north of Pitlochry.
What about Berriedale?? The programme makers conveniently left out this steep section with a hairpin bend, which is a nightmare for trucks and has seen fatalities too.
That hairpin bend has been bypassed now Doug!
Most of the problems here because the speed limit for a HGV on single carriageway in Scotland is 40 MPH and in England and Wales its 50 MPH.
It’s 50 for HGVs on the A9. They introduced a “trial” years ago and it’s been in place ever since
its 50 but they all foot to the floor at 56
“Not gonna say quiet”
*says quiet twice*
I quite like the A9. I bought an A9 number plate years ago. Was waiting for Audi to take out an A9 model
I think you should divert those cyclists via Edinburgh just to make sure they are kept safe!
Completely random statement but one of my close relatives would snowplough and reserve roughly a 30 mile zone on the A9 around inverness
I probably mention that this was before the A9s Last major new area not including the new dual carriageway upgrades so about 40-50 years ago
If they build it, they will come.
Reasoning for people over taking lorries, is the speed limit for lorries is 50 but for cars it is 60. I could imagine it is frustrating driving 10 mph below the speed limit
Is it really necessary that you get to your destination in a hurry? What if you don't make it there at all???
I’ve driven on the A9 several times. There is nothing wrong with the road itself,it’s the way some people drive on it which gives it the reputation as a killer road. Roads don’t cause accidents, careless drivers do.
Bollocks mate. Plenty wrong with the road. It has needed major upgrading for decades.
The road is a terrible design in some places , hard to tell for folk that don't use it what's dual and what's not sometimes.
The dualling of it the whole way is long overdue.
Dude are you insane? The road is supposed to be a dual that's why is a death road as the single sections were designed for dueling. That's why they look and feel like the dual section you are on 1 minute earlier. Factor in weather, congestion and tourists, people make the mistake they are on a dual section and increase speed, and overtake. They don't realise they are on the wrong side of the road on a single section. You couldn't design a more dangerous road!
On my TV I mainly stream dash cam compilations and documentaries. This is obviously a natural mid point.
I'm more west coast but I saw something lovely last year. They paint arrows on the road as an aid memoirs to foreign drivers as to which side of the road to drive on, especially each side of junctions where it would be easy to get it wrong. It's a good idea even if it seems to make the road surface fail early. There was much road repair and the crews were out resurfacing and replacing the road markings. We saw one set of arrows that were painted facing the wrong way around and then rather badly corrected with a tar brush. Next day they had been blasted off and redone. Just shows that we can all get it wrong sometimes!
Roads don't kill, people do.
Same with guns.
The issue is the SNP, who said they would dual Inverness to Perth. Here we are with little progress.
75% of drivers "unprepared" for winter conditions? Hello? Winter arrives every year. Why aren't winter tyres compulsory from October to April?
Because this isn't northern Canada.
@keithpringle3940 Very funny. Snow is snow, regardless of where it falls 🥳
I recently drove from North Shields to Dunfermline and the road (mostly A1) were not fit to drive on. Why do people drive on the fast lane when there is no traffic on the slow lane?
Having driven this road countless times in my HGV, by day and night, I have to say I have never had a problem, except once when a deer almost ran into me.
Also to my mind there's no such thing as a dangerous road, it's the dangerous drivers who make a road dangerous.
100% correct
100% incorrect.
@@Vinnie101a explain, how is “THE ROAD” itself dangerous. A sharp tool or machine is only dangerous if who ever uses it uses it incorrectly, this is the case of any road , it’s only dangerous because the users don’t use it correctly. .
@@Jacob-64 : Oh, Come On Sean. You have to be joking or ….else….you are completely off track.
This is a two-lane road that hasn’t had a major upgrade for over thirty years and has over 50 entry cross points.
If you haven’t noticed, roads all over the world have been constructed or changed over the past couple of decades with minimum distractions, and occasional merging lanes instead of many cross points.
Authorities provide overtaking lanes, install wire barriers in the middle and generally try to separate traffic going different directions.
I’m staggered that someone in the final few days of 2022, fails to comprehend that the it is the mix of weather, roads, vehicle and human error that causes accidents. Of course, there may be one driver that drives in a dangerous manner, but collects other vehicles along the way. Surely, those “innocent” people are entitled to travel on roads fit for purpose, and designed to world best practice.
I hope this gets through to you Sean. I’m sure you meant well, but there’s more to road safety than blaming everything on bad drivers.
@@Vinnie101a you obviously don’t drive very often to make a rather silly comment like this , or you’re a city slicker
Still think the average speed cameras the whole way are overkill. Fine having cameras but when u dont have cruise control like me u spend so much concentration checking ur speed its exhausting and that leads to accidents when ur driving 80 odd miles... and the rest if ur driving from England!
blurring the number plates of marked police cars....?
They just as well blocked out the policemans shoes.
The problem is simply the fact that it's not a three lane motorway which it should have been from the start and until it is converted ( which it never will be), these issues will continue, people will die lives will be ruined and all for the sake of frugality
Frugality in Scotland. Who would have thought.
I remember when the House of Bruar area was a green hut with a cafe.
@jemimallah I miss the Little Chef in Killiecrankie!
5:56 That is extremely unsafe by modern standards. How come the AP-68 in Spain manages to use overpasses even for the most isolated dirt roads in the most rural places?
2025, that much longer before you get 80 more miles of dual carriageway...jings, crivvins, help ma boab, then what.?..The crazies never stop, the accidents will simply continue. The highlands, most beautiful land in the world, and the road of Hell to get there.
The average speed cameras have been working for a couple of years now and the fall in the number of serious accidents and fatalities has been dramatic. Also, with the truck speed limit raised to 50mph, you now get a much smoother run with less bunching and fewer stupid overtakes. Dualling work is also well under way.
Old man CatWeezle biker needs to make some magic and fix his steel donkey .
Even the Police seem relaxed in this country
Edinburgh to Thurso 29years ago was painless in my wee escort , Different now .
I find its the clowns doing dangerous overtakes and lack of forward planning many years ago to take into account growth of traffic.
No U turns or right hand turns and only left turns with a long on-ramp are a necessity (but this incurs occasional expensive over or under bridges), dual carriageways rather than an alternating 3rd lane is preferred, both must have a median barrier anyway.
Almost motorway standard but without an emergency lane - and no SMART roads.
9:55 is that a young Derek Clark from the Rangers Review?
Oh my... if y'all have issues with that road come to the US. We have places like LA, Huston, Phoenix, New York. It took me 2 1/2 hours to go 68 miles the other day and my husband went 6 miles in 45 minutes. There are often deaths, car b ques, you name it.
Drove it 3 times a week for work and it doesn't deserve the reputation it got although there have been many bad accidents mostly due to complacency
When you watch Ice Road Truckers you get a little embarrassed!!!
The roads in Scotland are like driving in 1970's in England .... they are not busy...the 40 mph hgv restriction is daft because it creates impatient car drivers that can do 60...we just become rolling road block's....very dangerous.
@47:15 - Cyclists complaining as per usual - when they start paying for the roads (it should be sliding scale road tax for all vehicles instead of motor tax), then they might have some credibility. @48:10 - "trying to keep them happy..." I wish the engineers luck with that - I'd tell that lycra brigade to go and take a hike!
Lady in camera control room is lovely
...in a Scottish kinda way ...🤪
@@skiesofcornwall4431 some of those Scottish Lassies really are gorgeous
I worked on two of the "new" sections way back then (mid-seventies) and most I spoke back then working on it or as a residents felt its whole length should have been duel carrageway and underpasses but in Thatcher's world that was never going to happen
I've just come back from the highlands and noticed a lot of cars displaying Arnold Clark.
Arnold Clark is a major national car dealership franchise….
Did I see a sign 430 meter highest on A9 ? In Germany the highest point on my weekly commute was 560 meter and that was in the low lands.
The A9 goes in between all the mountains so it doesn't get very high unlike other roads on Scotland.
@@GordyFin rely ? i am amazed then why all the fuss ?
your 1000 subscriber is from ...ireland
I am a cyclist, and I’m also a motorist, and I also recognize that a lot of cyclists are just overgrown Karen’s. I get it things aren’t perfect but then what is things aren’t perfect in life or even as a driver. As a driver, I have to put up with some twats. But when a cyclist has something that’s not right my God some of them don’t off go on. I’m not all about dangerous situation that’s understandable. A car should always back off because cyclists or four more vulnerable. But a lot of the cyclists I see, are moaning over trivial items or looking for trouble or complaining to the wrong people. I get on my bike. Yes, I get fed up with some near misses. Ive had punchers through bad road surfaces. But sometimes instead of having a chip on your shoulder just have to suck it up.
Come on already fellow cyclists come at me
By the way, I say this as someone with disabilities that can now only ride a e-bike because of a car that drove into the side of me that put me into a wheelchair for four years and subsequently Still has disabilities 15 years later. Life changing disabilities that forced me to lose my career and my lifestyle but yet I’m here still moaning, less than the average cyclist, And the average car driver. Excluding this rant, of course please people just get on with your life and stop moaning.
House of Bruar's a tourist trap.