GOOD news from the A9 is almost as rare as a celebrity surviving 2016. However, new figures released by Transport Scotland’s A9 Safety Group reveal that, since the introduction of average speed cameras on Scotland’s longest and most notorious trunk road, fewer drivers have exceeded the speed limit and overall casualties have fallen by 45 per cent.

There have been fewer fatalities and, over a period of 21 months, a 63 per cent reduction in serious casualties between Dunblane and Inverness has been recorded. It is difficult to argue with such figures when judging average speed cameras. They are not everyone’s friend. The “yellow vultures” arouse indignation among free spirits of the road who are suspicious of authority and motoring enthusiasts with practical objections.

Jeremy Clarkson speculated recently that better weather or safer cars might just as well be the reasons for fewer accidents on the A9. It has even been argued that the numbers involved in the seemingly large percentages for fatality reduction are few.

However, we retain a preference for life over death and for statistics over speculation, even if critics may have valid points about the increased risks from cars bunching up and the propensity for the mind to wander in “boring” traffic.

We would acknowledge, too, that there have been problems with lower average speed limits past sections of upgrading. Adding varying average speeds to the already disorientating mix of single and dual carriageway is something we could do without.

However, the upgrading is necessary for the dualling of the A9, which remains the main safety priority in the long run. In the short term, on the latest figures, average speed cameras are proving to be a valid safety measure – even if, among the 142,000 motorists travelling up and down “the spine of Scotland” daily, they may put a few backs up.