Lawford Kidd's Blog

There has been a worrying rise in the number of motorcycle and pedal cycle casualties and also pedestrian and pedal cycle fatalities on Scotland’s roads, according to the latest figures released by Transport Scotland.

The Key Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2012 statistics give provisional indications on the number of road injury accidents and casualties that were reported to the police throughout the year.

Overall fall in road casualty figures

European Road Safety Day took place on 6th May and its theme this year was "pedestrian road safety".

Of the 30,000 people killed on European roads per year (28,000 in 2012), on average 21% are pedestrians, 7% are cyclists and 18% are riders of motorcycles and mopeds. Around 70% of the pedestrians who die are killed within urban areas.

There is cause for concern because, during the past ten years, the number of pedestrians killed in road accidents has not decreased to the same extent as the total number of road deaths. Almost half of all road deaths in urban areas involve a pedestrian or a cyclist.

The number of people dying in road traffic accidents across Europe fell by 9% in 2012, according to new figures released by the European Commission (EC).

This drop means that the number of road traffic fatalities is now at its lowest level since the data was first collected.

A landmark year for road safety

Vice-President Siim Kallas, Commissioner for Transport, has described 2012 as a “landmark year” for road safety in Europe, highlighting that a 9% decrease means that 3,000 lives were saved.

Young drivers could benefit from improved training and lower insurance premiums as the government confirmed its intention to launch a green paper on improving the safety and reducing risks to young drivers.

Among the proposals being considered are:

• a minimum learning period before candidates are permitted to sit their test
• enabling learner drivers to take lessons on motorways, and perhaps during adverse weather conditions or during darkness to encourage greater practice prior to taking a test
• increasing the existing probationary period from two to three years for a new driver’s licence to be revoked if they receive six or more penalty points
• making the driving test more rigorous to better prepare learners to drive unsupervised
• incentives for young drivers to take up additional training after passing their test.

The government is also considering the possibility of imposing temporary restrictions on newly qualified drivers and further details will be included for discussion when the green paper is published.

RoSPA is urging other parts of the UK to consider lowering the drink-drive limit after publishing a response to the proposal in Scotland.

Experts estimate that a 50mg limit would save between 77 and 168 lives a year in England and Wales, which could increase to as many as 300 lives annually by the 6th year.

The Scottish Government's consultation paper suggests that a lower limit could save as many as 17 lives a year on Scotland’s roads.