:00:07. > :00:14.not on the Monopoly board. -- London landmark. It is not on the
:00:14. > :00:19.Tonight on Newsnight Scotland: They call it the killer road, and last
:00:19. > :00:21.night it killed three more people, including a mother and child. Yet
:00:22. > :00:27.statistics show the A9's single carriageways are actually less
:00:27. > :00:31.dangerous than the average trunk road. So, what causes the regular
:00:31. > :00:35.incidents of carnage, and what more can be done about it? Also tonight,
:00:35. > :00:44.in the world's most golf-mad nation, why are so many local golf clubs
:00:44. > :00:47.running into financial trouble? Good evening. Over the years,
:00:47. > :00:50.Scotland has had a few candidates for most dangerous road. The
:00:50. > :00:52.predecessor of the M74 and before that the three-lane predecessor of
:00:52. > :00:55.the M8 had hellish reputations for road deaths. Modern road design,
:00:55. > :00:58.and of course motor technology, has dramatically reduced the death toll,
:00:58. > :01:01.and now the Government is committed to creating a dual carriageway
:01:01. > :01:04.between Perth and Inverness. But that won't be complete for 12 years
:01:04. > :01:14.and, in the meantime, there are real fears that last night's
:01:14. > :01:20.
:01:21. > :01:24.tragedy near Kingussie will not be The latest tragedy on the A 9 has
:01:24. > :01:30.focused minds on what should be done about a road which seems to
:01:30. > :01:34.have a fearsome reputation. This crash, which happened on Tuesday
:01:34. > :01:40.evening, claimed the lives of Prix people - including a mother and her
:01:40. > :01:46.young daughter. -- three people. The incident prompted calls for
:01:47. > :01:52.action to improve safety. A tragedy - it is always a tragedy when there
:01:52. > :02:01.is a fatal accident. A family has been affected. There are too many
:02:01. > :02:10.of these happening on the length and breadth of the land. The A
:02:10. > :02:14.Macro 9 seemed to be a tremendously dangerous road for all sorts of
:02:14. > :02:17.reasons. We're on the stretch of road that runs between Perth and
:02:17. > :02:23.Inverness. I was born and grew up in the Highlands and have driven up
:02:23. > :02:28.and down this road four-times than I care to remember. I have always
:02:28. > :02:34.been aware of the reputation as a road that claims lives. Do the
:02:34. > :02:38.official figures suggest another story? In 2009, there were three
:02:38. > :02:43.deaths on the road between Perth and Inverness and 14 serious
:02:43. > :02:48.injuries. The numbers fluctuated in the intervening years. Last year,
:02:48. > :02:51.latest information suggests there were five deaths and for serious
:02:51. > :02:57.injuries. Scott as Transport Minister says up grading the road
:02:57. > :03:02.was a major project which would take time and money to complete. --
:03:02. > :03:11.Scotland's Transport Minister. There are a number of advantages. A
:03:11. > :03:15.wider road is safer. It improves the economic benefits. The road
:03:15. > :03:21.should have been jailed decades ago. That is where we have announced we
:03:21. > :03:26.would do that and do it by 2025. Does Keith Brown reckon it is one
:03:26. > :03:32.of the country's most dangerous roads? This road is twice as safe
:03:32. > :03:37.as other roads in Scotland. That is the average. Also, if you asked the
:03:37. > :03:41.police, the police would say it is a safe road and compete driven
:03:41. > :03:50.safely. This is how the road between Perth and Inverness looks
:03:50. > :03:55.at the moment. Much of it is single carriageway. These sections can
:03:55. > :04:01.cause confusion and frustration. Under the upgrade programme, this
:04:01. > :04:11.part of the road will be fully jewelled button to 25. Safety is
:04:11. > :04:17.not just about the state of the roads. -- and will have dual
:04:17. > :04:21.carriageways throughout by 2025. Nobody is suggesting that spending
:04:21. > :04:30.billions of pounds of fruit will prevent fatal accidents like this
:04:30. > :04:34.were happening in the future. -- billions of pounds will prevent
:04:34. > :04:38.fatal accidents. I'm joined now by Road Haulage Association director
:04:38. > :04:44.Phil Flanders, who's in Dundee. And here in Glasgow Neil Greig of the
:04:44. > :04:50.Advanced Motorists Institute. Let's not get into what happened
:04:50. > :04:56.yesterday. Apart from any illness, it is probably no matter of police
:04:56. > :05:00.investigation. -- anything else. can be quite predictable of where
:05:00. > :05:05.these accidents are going to happen and how they will become. They tend
:05:05. > :05:15.to be head on crashes with people making people overtaking the
:05:15. > :05:17.
:05:17. > :05:22.neighbourspoint. -- manoeuvres. you mean somebody pulls up from a
:05:22. > :05:29.junction and they are not leaving enough distance? The road is not
:05:29. > :05:33.helping to protect. A motorway protect someone making a mistake.
:05:33. > :05:37.Everyone is going in the same direction. You do not have had on
:05:37. > :05:42.crashes. A long distance mainly single carriageway road, it is not
:05:42. > :05:50.protecting drivers who make mistakes. From what you are saying,
:05:50. > :06:00.is the idea ates a transition between the dual carriageways and
:06:00. > :06:06.the single carriageways something of a myth? 80s. The mix translates
:06:06. > :06:13.into bad driver behaviour. -- it is. You do tend to see some speeding up
:06:13. > :06:21.of traffic. On entrance to the dual carriageway sections, there are
:06:22. > :06:26.problems. It is about making a mistake and bad behaviour. You have
:06:26. > :06:31.nowhere to hide with an accident. That is way we have really
:06:31. > :06:35.spectacular, will double fatal accidents. The idea that Neil Greg
:06:35. > :06:41.hand that the road itself obviously cannot be blamed for everything
:06:41. > :06:47.that is not helping. -- had. Does that fitting with your members'
:06:47. > :06:52.experience? When you come to the end of a dual carriageway, everyone
:06:52. > :06:57.is desperate to get past slow- moving traffic. When you're doing
:06:57. > :07:02.70, 80 miles an hour, it is difficult to reduce your speed.
:07:02. > :07:06.Everyone continues like that. On a single carriageway, there is a lot
:07:06. > :07:10.of frustration and people do silly things. Everyone who has been on
:07:10. > :07:15.this road will know of at least one incident where someone has done
:07:15. > :07:21.something really stupid. It will happen again. Let's hope it will
:07:21. > :07:26.get sorted sooner rather than later. As Andrew was saying in the fell,
:07:26. > :07:32.statistically this road is not actually that pound. It has a
:07:32. > :07:39.terrible reputation. -- that bad. Is it the length of the road but
:07:39. > :07:45.encourages this kind of behaviour? People could be stuck behind a
:07:45. > :07:49.truck going at 40 miles an hour. Is it the length of it? Part of it is.
:07:49. > :07:54.An average journey from Perth to Inverness takes about two-and-a-
:07:54. > :08:01.half hours. If you are stuck behind his slow-moving vehicle, with a
:08:01. > :08:07.truck on a caravan or retractor, people are desperate to make up the
:08:07. > :08:14.time. -- ate a tractor. We will see some really strange minibus on the
:08:14. > :08:20.road that are very dangerous. manoeuvres. Neither of you would
:08:20. > :08:24.argue against turning the whole lot into a dual carriageway. We had
:08:24. > :08:29.better think of something else can have given the number of accidents.
:08:29. > :08:34.Isn't some of the ideas that have been proposed - one idea that you
:08:34. > :08:39.could increase the speed limit for HGV drivers so they're not
:08:39. > :08:45.perceived by other measures to be holding the traffic up? That would
:08:45. > :08:52.be a useful idea. -- other motorists. This is being looked at
:08:52. > :08:58.the UK level. There is widespread ignorance about the biggest trucks
:08:58. > :09:04.are only allowed to do 40 miles an hour. They know these vehicles can
:09:04. > :09:10.go faster. That can be frustrating. It is a very important trunk route
:09:10. > :09:15.- an important trade route. If it did not work, we would like to see
:09:15. > :09:19.it taken back as quickly as it went in. It is the sort of thing we
:09:19. > :09:24.could try - something new. It is the unique route in the mix of
:09:24. > :09:29.traffic and the length of road. We could have some new and innovative
:09:29. > :09:39.ideas, such as a different speed limit for the largest tracks.
:09:39. > :09:45.
:09:46. > :09:51.would support that? It is being looked at as the moment. And one
:09:51. > :09:56.possibility, this could be looked at by your organisation, that vehicles
:09:56. > :10:01.which are limited to 40 mph could every now and then pull into one of
:10:01. > :10:05.these lay-by is, and there are a lot of them, and if they see a queue of
:10:05. > :10:10.traffic behind them, and I know some traffic does this, but it is not
:10:10. > :10:16.that common for them to do it. That would help, and it would not just a
:10:16. > :10:21.big truck drivers, but people have the right to move along at 35 mph in
:10:21. > :10:25.their little car if they want to, but perhaps they do not have the
:10:25. > :10:32.right to have 40 vehicles behind them without pulling in to let them
:10:32. > :10:36.pass? You are right, most lorry drivers know it is sensible to do
:10:36. > :10:41.so, and the vast majority will pull over and let traffic to pass by when
:10:41. > :10:48.they get the opportunity. Is that true, Neill, I am sure some
:10:48. > :10:58.motorists would dispute that? are not many occasions are places
:10:58. > :11:04.you can pull over or have a server stopped or a toilet break...
:11:04. > :11:09.could let the traffic pass by? drivers provide the lifeblood of the
:11:09. > :11:14.economy, if the goods do not get to Inverness on time, they have a
:11:14. > :11:19.financial penalty, so they have to keep going. One other issue, Neill,
:11:19. > :11:23.speed cameras, this is something that transport Scotland was looking
:11:23. > :11:28.at, had a relevant? The kind of accidents we're getting here, you
:11:29. > :11:33.could be happy to drive at 60 mph, within the speed limit, it is the
:11:33. > :11:38.overtaking that you do when you get frustrated, so would average speed
:11:38. > :11:44.cameras be any good? When most of the problems are overtaking
:11:44. > :11:51.accidents, that is about top speed. It is expensive to enforce the speed
:11:51. > :11:54.limit in this way. Thank you very much indeed, both of you.
:11:54. > :11:57.Now, if your children have spent the week dreaming of being tennis
:11:57. > :11:59.champions, give them another few days and it will be golf. The
:11:59. > :12:02.Scottish Open starts tomorrow at Castle Stuart, and next week, the
:12:02. > :12:05.Open itself, at Muirfield. A higher percentage of the population plays
:12:05. > :12:08.golf here than in any other country. In Germany, for example, there's one
:12:08. > :12:11.golf course for every 114,000 people. In England it's one for
:12:11. > :12:15.28,000. But here in Scotland, it's one for about 10,000 people. A
:12:15. > :12:17.recent report by KPMG found the game is worth over �1 billion to the
:12:17. > :12:20.Scottish economy. But in spite of successful initiatives to encourage
:12:20. > :12:23.children to start the game, some of our community clubs are now
:12:23. > :12:29.struggling to make ends meet, as memberships fall below a sustainable
:12:29. > :12:39.level. Part of the problem, as Ian Hamilton has been finding out, is
:12:39. > :12:42.
:12:42. > :12:47.that a glut of new courses in recent According to a recent report
:12:47. > :12:57.published by KPMG, golf is really important for the Scottish economy.
:12:57. > :13:04.
:13:04. > :13:10.They said it is worth nearly �1.2 billion. Music plays. There are 600
:13:10. > :13:14.golfing facilities across the country including golf ranges. In
:13:14. > :13:20.the last 20 years, there has been an expansion in the number of golf
:13:20. > :13:24.courses in Scotland where there is an increase of 20%. But over the
:13:24. > :13:30.same timescale, we have always seen a 5% increase in the number of
:13:30. > :13:34.players taking up the game. So, plenty of choice for golfers, as it
:13:34. > :13:44.has pushed down the prices, but some say, not as good for the industry,
:13:44. > :13:45.
:13:45. > :13:54.has some golf clubs struggle to send membership -- sell membership. This
:13:54. > :13:58.has contributed to the plight of some of our oldest clubs. Tough
:13:58. > :14:07.economic times and several poor summers has put this old golf club
:14:07. > :14:13.in jeopardy. Tell us about this club? This was established in 1877
:14:13. > :14:20.and we are the oldest golf club in the Scottish Borders. Ten years ago,
:14:20. > :14:28.we were touching nearly 300 full members, and now, this year, we have
:14:28. > :14:33.got 114. It is nearly �70,000 in sobs that we are losing. Is it
:14:33. > :14:39.purely economics, other golf clubs around the country say, the bad
:14:39. > :14:44.weather did not help over the bad summers? It is not helped the
:14:44. > :14:48.finances, because golf is a luxury. It is a luxury that some people have
:14:48. > :14:55.to do without. Put on top of that, two or three really bad summers that
:14:55. > :15:01.we have had, it has put paid to a lot of people 's hobbies. Last
:15:01. > :15:06.month, KPMG published a report saying that 20,000 jobs in Scotland
:15:06. > :15:12.were dependent on golf. For some, it might just be about knocking a small
:15:12. > :15:18.ball about a park, but with wages of more than �300 million a year, it is
:15:18. > :15:23.clearly a major contributor to the Scottish purse. We want to grow the
:15:23. > :15:26.game as the golf industry in Scotland, and this report gives us
:15:26. > :15:32.the economic value of golf to Scotland and provides a base where
:15:32. > :15:37.we can develop it further. There are 650 car professionals in Scotland,
:15:37. > :15:42.many of them involved in coaching and running shops. -- golf
:15:42. > :15:48.professionals. They believe that they could avoid some of these
:15:48. > :15:57.economic problems if they use these golf clubs properly. Traditionally,
:15:57. > :16:01.you have got a lot of business people in golf clubs, and if they
:16:01. > :16:09.ran their business the way that there are golf club was run, then it
:16:09. > :16:13.would go bust. The structure and the Scottish golf union, they are
:16:13. > :16:17.working to try to assist the clubs on their business management
:16:17. > :16:23.structure and how this will work, and hopefully that is where many of
:16:23. > :16:28.the PGA members could be of good assistance. These youngsters at the
:16:28. > :16:32.heart of the East End of Glasgow, as you see, they are getting a golf
:16:32. > :16:41.lesson. It is all part of the government drive to get every child
:16:41. > :16:46.from the age of nine the opportunity to play the game. This is Gleneagles
:16:46. > :16:52.hotel, a world away from a primary school in the East End of Glasgow.
:16:52. > :16:59.Next year, the Ryder Cup comes here. This is one of our suites that has
:16:59. > :17:05.been really very popular over the years. They hope that it will create
:17:05. > :17:09.a legacy by getting more people to play and attract more golf tourists.
:17:09. > :17:14.There is no doubt that the Ryder Cup will bring a great legacy to
:17:14. > :17:19.Scotland. It has been many years since we have had it here, 1973, and
:17:19. > :17:23.it is quite likely that it will be many years for it to return. But for
:17:23. > :17:26.those few short days for those that follow golf, it will be the upper
:17:26. > :17:32.centre of everything they are interested in, a wonderful
:17:32. > :17:36.experience for Scotland. Something like half a billion people across
:17:36. > :17:40.the world will be watching the Ryder Cup. I think it is like the third
:17:40. > :17:48.most watched sporting event in the world. It is a phenomenal
:17:48. > :17:52.opportunity as a platform for us to portray Scottish golf at its best.
:17:52. > :17:57.The average golfer in Scotland is in their 40s and 50s. If the game
:17:57. > :18:04.doesn't fight back and attract new members, clubs like here could be in
:18:04. > :18:09.deep trouble in the future. That was Ian Hamilton, a quick look at the
:18:09. > :18:10.newspapers for tomorrow, economic recovery underway finally, according
:18:10. > :18:15.to the Scottish Chamber of Commerce.
:18:15. > :18:22.The Guardian newspaper, MoD fears for Trident sub days, the British
:18:22. > :18:25.government might designate Faslane has a nuclear area if Scotland were
:18:25. > :18:31.true independence. The Daily Telegraph, do we have the Daily
:18:31. > :18:35.Telegraph? Cameron put the dish identity at heart of case for union.