Road traffic incidents on A980: EIR release

FOI reference: FOI/17/01680
Date received: 20 July 2017
Date responded: 8 August 2017

Information requested

• Number of road traffic incidents on the A980 between junction of B977 and Torphins (approx. 5 mile stretch) including type of vehicle

• Number of fatalities to have occurred during this period

• Number of reported incidents not resulting in a collision (i.e., a near miss or report of dangerous driving)

• Number of reported speeding of driving offences recorded

Ideally, I'd like this going back as far as possible, but I am realistic to understand that may not be possible, so as far as your records go will be fine (at least a 10 year period would be good start).

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4) (a) of the EIRs. The reason why that exception applies is that the A980 and the B977 are local authority roads and they are the responsibility of Aberdeenshire Council.

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