SCOTLAND’S road chiefs are inisting that great improvements have been made to North Ayrshire after it was recently revealed that Irvine Town Centre is a death blackspot, according to a map outlining road fatalities over a ten year period.

A total of 73 people lost their lives on North Ayrshire roads between 1999 and 2010 – the majority on the main trunk road network or on smaller rural roads.

There were three fatalities in Irvine Town Centre – in Bank Street and High Street – during this period, two of which involved buses.

A further two deaths occurred in nearby Mill Road and Marress Road.

In all 22 people - both drivers, passengers and pedestrians died on the roads in the Irvine and Kilwinning area – almost one-third of the total deaths in North Ayrshire between 1999 and 2010.

More recent national figures indicate that the number of people killed on Scotland’s roads has decreased by 41 per cent, from an average of 292 in the baseline period (2004-2008) to 172 in 2013.

However Transport Scotland insists that they have worked to make significant improvements in the following areas. By operating a trunk road and motorway programme, and incident management and incident support service, ensuring that motorways and certain trunk roads are litter free, providing lighting along trunk networks, undertaking annual road condition surveys and improving works to minimise landslides. Advances in engineering both in vehicle and roads technology will help towards reduction in fatalities. This must also be combined with positive road user behaviour which can be influenced through education and enforcement activities,” Transport Scotland states on its site.

“Drink driving, seatbelts, speed and rural roads and the most vulnerable groups including drivers aged 17 to 25, motorcyclists and pedestrians need to be tackled.

“Casualty reduction is a very high priority for all Scottish forces and Road Safety forms a Statutory Responsibility for Local Authorities. The number of people killed and seriously injured on Scotland’s roads are included in the Improvement Service menu of Local Outcome Indicators.”