The A82 road runs part of its way through Glencoe

The A82 from Glasgow to Inverness - which takes in the Caledonian Canal, Glencoe and Loch Lomond - is a well known accident blackspot.

In the last two years 22 people have been killed and 400 seriously injured.

Now local authorities, road users and police have joined forces to back the campaign, which launches on Monday.

Ch Insp John Chisholm, of Northern Constabulary, said the accident statistics painted a "grim picture" of the route.

He added: "Driver behaviour, of course, is an aspect of the various collisions which we investigate, but the A82 along the route it follows is fairly tortuous.

"It hugs the Great Glen fault line, for example - the bends are considerable. The camber of the road is adverse on many locations and all that contributes to the accident statistics."

Petition call

As well as causing human suffering, campaigners said the frequent accidents were a drain on public resources.

They claimed that the road, which is essential for many communities on the west coast and beyond, was also slow and badly maintained.

The poor state of the road is hampering development and job creation in the west Highlands, they added.

A petition calling for phased improvements to the route has been posted on the Scottish Parliament's e-petitions website on behalf of the A82 Partnership.

Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor said �90m investment in a five-year programme of improvements was announced by Scottish Ministers in 2006.

He said delivering the upgrades must be a priority.