Bad news for North East Scotland as recently released figures show that the region has the highest car accident injury rate in the whole of Britain.
Banff and Buchan Westminster constituency recorded the highest rate of fatal and serious injuries between 2010 and 2014 - at a rate 103 per cent greater than the national average. West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine fared little better, recording a fatal and serious injury rate of 79 per cent above the national average.
However, the figures should not come as a surprise. For a number of years experts, including road safety campaigners and personal injury solicitors, have argued that the road network in the North East presents far too many risks. Neil Greig, a specialist in Scottish road safety with the Institute of Advanced Motorists, commented that the data was "yet another grim reminder that the death and injury toll on Grampians roads is far too high".
Grieg added, "With many miles of single carriageway road, it will take years for engineering solutions to deliver improvements, although police enforcement can always be made more high profile in the meantime."
And things are unlikely to get better any time soon. Only days ago it was confirmed that Scotland had experienced its highest number of car accident deaths in some time, with at least 14 people suffering fatal injuries in the two weeks to Friday November 6.
With the clocks going back, daylight hours shortening and damp and leaf-strewn roads a feature of November and December, these are always challenging months, but this is what makes the latest figures so difficult to stomach; the hazards are real but they are hardly news and there is great frustration that there has been a failure to take more effective preventative action.
If you have sustained injury as a result of the negligence of another road user and would like to consider your right to an injury compensation claim for medical treatment, care, rehabilitation and lost earnings click here for more from Thompsons , Scotland's leading car accident solicitor firm.