This still left the East Ayrshire stretch of the road which widely appeared in statistics as one of the most dangerous sections of road in Scotland. The majority of this section was an unsegregated, 4-lane single carriageway between Kilmarnock and Newton Mearns and the lanes were narrow compared to the standard of other major roads. At several points, it was common for traffic waiting to turn right to queue in the overtaking lane. The speed limit of was widely ignored. Finally, the road narrowed to only two lanes near Newton Mearns, causing long queues.