Transport Scotland - A9 accident statistics: EIR release

Information requested

“I would like to make an FOI request for the number and details of road traffic accidents occurring on

• the A9 road at the following junctions within the last ten years.
• the A9 and the B867 (at Birnham)
• the A9 and Perth Rd (Birnham)
• the A9 and the A923 (Dunkeld)
• the A9 and the A822 (Old Military Rd)

I would like, if possible, a list of the date of each accident, number of fatalities if any, types of vehicles involved, and the deemed cause of the accident."

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.

Response to your request

Please see Annex A to this response for a copy of the Personal Injury accident data requested. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. We do not have some of the information you have requested because Transport Scotland does not hold information relating to damage only accidents.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about road traffic accidents, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

A further exception under regulation 10(5)(b) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to course of justice) applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because providing the deemed cause relates to the detection of offences and potential legal proceedings.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception as it is relates to the investigation and potential prosecution of offences and releasing such information would be likely to prejudice substantially the prevention or detection of crime, or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

However, you might wish to contact Police Scotland who may be able to provide you with further information. They can be contacted at Freedom of Information - Police Scotland.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202400436572 - Information Released - Annex A

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