Tuesday March 10th 2026
A driver had a lucky escaped from this vehicle on Kirk Road in Bathgate (photo from Willie Boyle).
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
New road safety measures in Bathgate will do nothing to stop speeding drivers, councillors claimed this week.
And they have warned that major road works coming to the town could add to long running problems on the largely residential routes.
Part of the problem is that accident statistics collected no longer reflect the number of accidents seen on roads such as Kirk Road and Marjoribanks Street.
Harry Cartmill, chair of the Bathgate Local Area Committee said he was in full agreement with SNP councillor Willie Boyle on concerns about the speed of traffic on the two roads.
Councillors were reacting to an appearance by the council design engineering manager Graham Burton who described road safety works about to start at Marjoribanks Street’s junction with Drumcross Road at its western end.
Mr Burton also gave an update about a major redesign of Edinburgh Road, the main A89 route through Bathgate, which is still on course to start this summer.
Councillor Cartmill said: “I’m glad that you are doing something at the junction at Drumcross Road. I was hoping there would be something in this report about the speed of traffic on Marjoribanks Street. Willie and I are at one on this. For many many years it is something we have raised, about the speed there and the amount of accidents.
“I hoped to see something that would have addressed that. I was really hoping that I’d see something about measures for traffic calming. I don’t see anything and that’s really disappointing.”
Councillor Cartmill said he could guarantee that cars would pass him on the street going much faster than the 30mph limit.
Another lucky escape for a driver from this crash on Kirk Road in Bathgate (photo from Willie Boyle).
Councillor Boyle said: “The work going on in Edinburgh Road and at Marjoribanks Street that’s all to be welcomed but is not dealing with Marjoribanks Street or Kirk Road, and all this work is going to put more pressure on these roads.
The councillor asserted that the criteria for recording accidents was out of date in that it only records incidents as accidents where people are taken to hospital. These statistics bore no relation to actual number accidents he had seen.
“That whole system has changed completely. Ambulance crews are highly trained paramedics. Their raison d’etre is to come along, triage and deal with the patient in the back of the ambulance to avoid putting them into hospital. They are capable of dealing with them at the side of the road.
“The stats don’t take account of that. We are getting false pictures. Either legislation needs to change or we have to re-look at how you gather stats. Something has to give because we are using it as an excuse to say ‘oh there’s not really an issue’. It is an issue, it’s constantly an issue.
“The works that are being introduced are all welcome but they are all going to put more traffic onto Kirk Road and Marjoribanks Street.”
He called for a detailed report to come back to the committee regarding the numbers of cars using the two roads before the Edinburgh Road works start, and once they are under way.
Mr Burton outlined new plans for crossings and resurfacing to improve road safety. Responding to both councillors he said he would take their comments to colleagues who work on road safety and the Accident Investigation and Prevention Programme.
He reiterated that accident numbers had fallen because of the improvements carried out on accident hotspots.
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