A SENIOR police officer has called for the timetable for dualling the main route to the Highlands to be shortened and the next phase brought forward after the deaths of three people in a head-on crash.
Chief Superintendent David O'Connor, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, made the call after seven-year-old Mia Houston died along with her mother, Abigail, on the A9 just south of the Ralia junction on Tuesday.
A German tourist in the other vehicle also died on the 113-mile stretch, which has claimed almost 100 lives since 2006.
In a letter to the Scottish Government, Mr O'Connor, who previously worked in the Highlands, said dualling the remaining 80 miles of two- lane road was now a "higher priority". The current £3 billion programme is scheduled to take until 2025 to complete.
Mr O'Connor said there were "few roads in Scotland that have the same reputation as a dangerous road", and also suggested increased police patrols and a zero-tolerance approach to illegal driving on the A9, such as speeding.
He regularly drives it and said accidents occur on it with a "depressing frequency".
Mr O'Connor said: "A major part of the problem is engineering. The road needs to be dual-carriageway for its entirety. While I welcome the Scottish Government position that work on making the A9 dual carriageway from Perth to Inverness will start early, in 2015-2016, I have to ask: is this early enough?
"There have been other major capital investments made across Scotland for sound economic reasons. However, people are continuing to die and be seriously injured on the A9 with depressing frequency. Is this the case in some of the other projects?
"This needs to be looked at with fresh eyes and explored to see if it can be given a higher priority. Our elected representatives in the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament need to ask themselves if they need to reassess their priorities and bring forward improvement work as soon as possible."
Mrs Houston's husband and Mia's father Andrew, a solicitor advocate from Edinburgh, and his other daughter, are being treated for their injuries in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
The family said in a statement: "It is incredibly difficult to find the words to express the loss we are feeling. Abigail was such a bright and vivacious woman who lived life to the full, adored her family and was greatly fulfilled through her work as a paediatric occupational therapist.
"Mia was a delightful and beautiful little girl who enjoyed school and activities, but most of all loved her family and friends."
The German victim's wife is also being treated at the hospital.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said the A9 was one of the top transport infrastructure projects in the country and around £50 million had been spent improving safety since 2007. "We are determined A9 motorists should see improvements on the route as soon as possible," he said.
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