MSP welcomes safety measures

Nov 14 2008 by Our Correspondent, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

NEW road safety measures on the A85 Perth to Crieff Road at Burnbrae will save lives, claimed Elizabeth Smith MSP yesterday.

Three members of a Methven family and two Crieff teenagers were killed in a car crash on that stretch of road in January 2007.

Auchterarder man Ewan Macpherson, who admitted causing the tragedy, was the sole survivor. He was sentenced to 40 months in jail at the High Court in May.

Macpherson had overtaken on the blind summit and ploughed into an oncoming car carrying three members of the popular Melville family of Methven, on their way home from a karate event. Macpherson’s two passengers, Tanya Webster and Donna Miller, also died.

Speaking as work took place to install new signs and solid double white lines, the Scottish Conservative member for Mid-Scotland and Fife said she was pleased that the new measures were finally being put in place.

And she paid tribute to both the local community and the relatives of the Melville family for their determination, often in difficult and emotional circumstances, to ensure the campaign was successful.

Elizabeth said: “This has been a long, hard struggle after one of the most horrific road accidents ever seen in this part of Scotland.

“While we can never make amends for the loss of life, I hope the new signs and road markings will make motorists, whether they are travelling east or west, think twice before they cross over this dangerous, blind summit, and therefore I hope it will save lives in the future.

“It is a notorious stretch of road and I make a special appeal to everyone who uses this road to be extra vigilant.

“The local community has never given up in its determination to secure these improvements and I pay tribute to their efforts and to all those who signed the petition which, I believe, had considerable impact.”