Lawford Kidd's Blog

Roads in Scotland are becoming safer, according to recently released statistics from Transport Scotland.

The statistics cover reported road accidents where one or more people were killed or injured in 2013. Although the figured are only provisional (final figures are due to be published later in the year), the majority of the findings are encouraging for Scottish road users.

Having falling by 10% to 11,493 between 2012 and 2013, the number of road casualties are now at their lowest recovered level. Of these 11,493 reported road casualties, the number of fatalities dropped by 3% from 178 to 172, serious injuries by 16% to 1,667 and minor injures by 9% to 9,654.

Following a serious road traffic accident in the borders the client sustained a severe injury to his spinal cord meaning that he was wheelchair bound and required an extensive care regime for the rest of his life. Insurers for the driver after lengthy court proceedings finally accepted responsibility and a care regime was put in place covering 24 hour assistance and a new specially adapted house was built. Consultant David Sandison commented that he was delighted at the settlement which provides permanent care and security for a seriously disabled client.

For more information on how we can help you claim for road traffic personal injuries cick here.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has recently introduced a package of measures designed to change the way young people learn to drive.

Following this news, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called on the UK Government to take similar action and implement a package of reforms that would include:

• Introducing a 12 month minimum learning period.
• Developing a more structured syllabus.
• Introducing a restricted phase where there is a limit of the number of passengers a new driver can carry, the time of the day they drive and a lowering of the blood alcohol limit.

These are all critical components of a Graduated Driver Licensing scheme, which are designed to provide new drivers with driving experience and skills over a longer period of time.

Just over ten years after hand-held mobiles were banned at the wheel, Brake is renewing its call to ban hands-free kits, as a Brake and Direct Line survey reveals that almost half (45%) of drivers admit to chatting when driving.

While the use of hand-held phones by drivers has dropped, hands-free use has risen, likely to be linked to the mistaken belief that it is a safe alternative.

For the past ten years, Brake believes that the lack of a total ban has left many drivers unaware that using a hands-free mobile at the wheel is just as risky as using a hand-held. According to the survey, three in ten (32%) don't know that any type of phone use while driving is dangerous.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is warning drivers about the dangers of distracted driving after research found that nearly one in ten (9%) of drivers admit to crashing their cars because they were distracted. Just under one in twenty drivers (4%) say that someone was injured in the crash.

The IAM/Vision Critical survey, which polled nearly 1500 regular UK drivers aged 18 years and over, also found that of the 500 divers who admitted to having a near miss, almost one in five (18%) then went on have a crash.  

The most common distractions are: