Travel and transport: the A9 road by bus

Roads are essential for connecting people, places and industries.

In this article you can learn:

• where roads are built and why they are built there
• some types of road you might find in Scotland
• why we need roads
• the A9 and why it is important

This guide is suitable for learning about People, Place and Environment topics in primary school.

Join Isla and Connor as they travel up the A9 road by bus. They learn about different types of roads and why we need them.

Nowadays, roads allow people to get from home to work or school, receive goods and supplies and visit friends and family. There are lots of roads in big towns and cities, and other roads that join places together. In the past, many roads were built:

• along trading routes, so the roads or tracks had to be suitable for livestock to travel long distances.
• for armies to travel long distances, sometimes on foot, to an important settlement or castle.

In Scotland, there are several different types of road, including:

• motorways
• A and B roads
• single-track roads.

They all have their part to play in keeping people connected.

Everyone who travels by road must follow a set of rules called The Highway Code. These rules are designed to keep the roads safe for everyone - drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians and other road users.

The Highway Code covers everything you need to know to use the road safely, including:

• vehicle and cycle maintenance, such as checking brakes and lights are in working order.
• speed limits for vehicles on different types of road.
• traffic lights, road signs and markings.
• rules for using the road in different conditions such as bad weather and at night time.
• basic safety measures, such as wearing seatbelts in cars, not using mobile phones while driving and cyclists using white front and red rear lights at night.

These rules are updated regularly to help all road users to stay safe. All new vehicle drivers must pass a test to show their knowledge of the Code before they can get a driving license.

Cyclists can choose to build their confidence on the roads and demonstrate their road awareness using the National Standards in Cycle Training or Bikeability courses - but these are optional.

As well as following old military and trading routes, new roads have to be built around the landscape they're in. They can't always go from A to B as there might be mountains, thick forest, or rivers in the way. The route roads take and the features they have can help make travelling safer.

Here are some examples of roads in Scotland that work with the surrounding landscape.

The A9 is the longest road in Scotland. It is 273 miles, or 439 km long.

• It used to be the main road between Edinburgh, the capital, and John o' Groats, one of the most north-eastern points on the Scottish mainland.
• Both ends of the route have changed over time.
  • There are new motorway sections carrying more traffic from Edinburgh in the south to Stirling and Perth.
  • The north end of the road is now at Scrabster Harbour near Thurso, where you can catch an onward ferry to Stromness in Orkney.
• It is still the major route connecting the Central Belt and Highlands of Scotland. The road has had to be adapted for larger, faster vehicles and an overall increase in traffic. Without improvements to let traffic flow more smoothly, there would be more pollution and congestion on this route.

The proposed changes to the A9 include:

• making 30 sections of the road a dual carriageway so that it is safer for large amounts of traffic to travel in busy conditions, and at high speeds.
• installing electric chargers and charging hubs along the route to encourage people to use electric vehicles
• providing more safe crossings for other road users (especially cyclists and pedestrians)

dual carriageway - A major road with a central reservation separating traffic travelling in opposite directions.

carbon emissions - The release of carbon in to the earth’s atmosphere which contributes to climate change.

greenhouse gases - Gases in the atmosphere that trap heat. Although they are needed to keep Earth warm enough for life to exist, there is now too much of them, contributing to climate change. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases.

electric vehicle charging network - A network of electric charging points that allow drivers to charge their electric vehicles, therefore cutting down on carbon emissions released from petrol and diesel.

pollution - when substances that are harmful are introduced into the environment.

congestion - when roads become overcrowded with cars and other vehicles, so traffic slows or stops completely.

settlement - a place where people live

The Highway Code - a set of road safety rules and guidance for all road users

Design some safe, green roads

It's not only big roads like the A9 that need to be safe for all users. Think about a route you often take, to school, a local park or to visit family and friends. Think about the roads you have to cross and the vehicles that travel on them. Could you design a safer, more environmentally-friendly way for everyone to travel? Maybe draw a map of the route, with the important places marked.

Here are some things you might want to think about or research for your map:

• crossings and other safety measures
• speed of the traffic and how busy it might be
• pollution
• the type of road
• paths for road users who aren't in vehicles

The young people from North Queensferry Primary School made a short film all about the Forth Bridges, their local landmarks.