Scottish Traffic Fatality Numbers Increased in 2016
One hundred and ninety one people lost their lives in accidents on Scotland’s roads in 2016, according to the latest figures released by Transport Scotland. This is an increase of 14 fatalities over the number killed in 2015. Looking at the figures in more detail, they also reveal a rise in the number of child fatalities […]
Calls for Return of Road Casualty Reduction Targets
Road safety charity Brake has urged the UK Government to reintroduce casualty reduction targets. The call follows the publication by the Department for Transport of its Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain Annual Report for 2014, which shows that 1,775 people died on the roads (a 4% increase on the year before). A further 22,807 […]
Charity Highlights Worrying Trends in Road Safety
Road safety charity Brake has recently highlighted a number of worrying trends with regards to the safety of the UK’s roads. The first area of concern for the charity is the number of deaths and serious injuries that are still occurring on the roads as a result of drink driving. Government figures show that in 2013, 240 […]
Skipper Sentenced Following Diver Death in the Forth
The skipper of a shellfish fishing boat has been sentenced for serious safety failings after the death of a diver in the River Forth Estuary. Graeme Mackie was working as a scuba diver to collect shellfish from Ronald John MacNeil’s boat the “Rob Roy” when the incident occurred in June 2011. Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard that Mr […]
Employers Urged to Protect Vulnerable Road Users
Many employers with vehicle fleets are not taking advantage of new technologies to protect vulnerable road users, a new report by Brake, the road safety charity, and Licence Bureau has found. Despite the potential to help drivers see pedestrians and cyclists and reduce casualties, only one in five HGV operators surveyed (20%) have rear-facing cameras on all […]
The Dangers of Drinking and Walking
Drunk pedestrians can be a major cause of traffic accidents, according to new research by price comparison website Confused.com. The research shows that over 6,000 ‘drunk’ pedestrians have been injured on UK roads since 20111, and many of these ‘drunk walking’ accidents are happening over the Christmas period. Drunk pedestrians are most at risk of injury on […]
Campaign Launched to Reduce Road Deaths
A new campaign to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Scotland’s roads has been launched by road safety charity Brake. Figures show that 172 people were killed and 1,667 seriously injured on Scottish roads last year, and across the UK as a whole there are five deaths and 61 serious injuries every day. As […]
Company Fined for Edinburgh Warehouse Fall
A roofing company from Bristol has recently appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where it pled guilty to failing to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to its employees when working at heights after an employee fell through a roof light. The incident happened in July last year at a warehouse in Gorgie Park […]
Preventing Death and Injury on the Roads
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: These are all critical components of […]
Risky hands-free calls at the wheel on the rise
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 […]
