Driving law change needed to end ‘notorious’ motorway problem
Harriet Cross MP has written to Transport Scotland to install signage on an A90 underpass in Aberdeenshire.
15:54, 03 Sep 2025
Driving law change needed to end 'notorious' motorway problem
Driving law changes are needed to avoid "catastrophic consequences" on roads and motorways. Harriet Cross MP has written to Transport Scotland to install signage on an A90 underpass in Aberdeenshire.
It comes after local residents and drivers complained about the quality of road signs. The Conservative Party[1] MP for Gordon and Buchan warned the near-miss could have led to facilities on the B9000 slip road at the Newburgh turn-off.
Ms Cross, who became an MP in 2024, said: "This was an extremely dangerous incident that could so easily have resulted in a tragedy.
Fortunately, the oncoming car saw the lorry coming and stopped early enough to avoid a head-on collision.
"But to make matters worse, it appears the lorry then drove down the wrong way of the dual carriageway, which only increased the danger to those on the road at the time. It only takes one incident like this to have catastrophic consequences."
Matthew Bellamy, managing director at SNAP, said: "Driver error plays a huge part in the amount of bridge strikes occurring, a view echoed by our audience.
"However, it's also important to address additional factors, such as inaccurate signage, delivery pressures, and infrastructure changes."
The motorway area in Scotland, north of the border, has previously been branded "notorious".
Speaking previously, Mid Formartine councillor, Derek Ritchie, added: "Recent collisions have shown the dangers of crossing the junction which can often lead to terrifying situations.
"It is clear that road safety improvements need to be put in place at the junction to avoid further fatalities and accidents.
"I believe flashing warning signs would help to warn drivers that crossing traffic is up ahead and I will continue to campaign for measures like this to be implemented to safeguard motorists at the A947/A920 junction."
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: "When considering road safety initiatives, we make data-driven decisions on where to prioritise traffic and road safety improvements. This ensures that the appropriate improvement is made relative any recorded incidents on the road network.
"We are currently trialling new camera-based technology at the junction which calculates the number of potential collisions based on speed and proximity of vehicles.
"Initial reports have not identified any additional risk, though we will await a full report before considering if any additional works are required.
"We are aware of unreported non-injury collisions that have occurred on the bends either side of the junction.
The incidents have been found to relate to loss of control on the bend rather than manoeuvres made at the junction.
Investigations into measures that will mitigate this are under way with works planned for this year.
"We are always happy to work with our local communities and our partners at Police Scotland on the issue of road safety, including where incidents relate to the road network or whether driver behaviour is a factor.
"As such, our priority is investing in locations where evidence shows incidents are occurring and where there is an engineering solution that may reduce the number or severity of these incidents."
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