The A9 is considered Scotland's most dangerous road.

The number of people killed in crashes on the route between Inverness and Perth rose to its highest level in 20 years in 2022.

Thirteen people lost their lives on the 112-mile stretch.

Highland Council has criticised the Scottish Government for stalling work on dualling the A9.

Councillors passed a joint motion earlier this month, deploring the decision to delay dualling the remaining 80 miles of the road.

READ MORE: Ferry weight limit plan axed by Highland council

The A82 between Glasgow and the Highlands is also consistently singled out for safety, in particular, the Loch Lomond stretch while Argyll and Bute was last year named as the region of Scotland with the most dangerous roads.

The Herald:

The area had an average of 170 road accidents per year, giving a score of 1.99 accidents per 1,000 of the population.

The study analysed Department of Transport data from 2013 to 2020 in all local authorities across Scotland.

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In second place is the City of Edinburgh, with 1.78 road accidents per 1,000 of its population.

The capital city of Scotland has an average of 939 road accidents per year and 527,620 residents.

Stirling was the third most dangerous area for drivers in Scotland.

The city has a population of 94,080 and 156 road accidents per year. These figures give a score of 1.66 accidents per 1,000 residents.

South Ayrshire came tenth on the list with neighbouring authorities in the East and North nowhere to be seen on the list.

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South Ayrshire averaged 158 road accidents per year — translating to 1.41 accidents per 1,000 of the population.

The study also revealed that Glasgow has the most road accidents per year than anywhere else in Scotland.

Compared to the rest of Britain, however, Scotland is the safest area overall, with 1.32 road accidents per 1,000 of the population, compared with 1.51 in Wales and 2.05 in England.

London was the most dangerous area overall, with the highest rate of 2.76 road accidents per 1,000 of its population.