Scottish Road Safety Strategy

Scottish Road Safety Strategy

Response to Consultation Paper by

Institute of Transport Administration

The Institute of Transport Administration is a professional body of members covering all disciplines within the field of transport including Road, Rail, Air and Sea. This response has been received from members of a working group within the Scottish Section of the Institute and is reflected in this contribution.

Theme 1 What should our priorities be?

Improved education for all road users, from the drivers of the heaviest truck to the cyclists and pedestrians. It is evident that once drivers have passed their test they feel that they know it all and that further training is unnecessary. It is also evident from accident statistics that young people are not being equipped with the skills needed when driving on the road.

Improved and consistent road design patterns as used in Netherlands, Both in the Swedish and Netherlands model there seems a greater emphasis on human fallibility in road design and this should be considered in all future projects. Many of the accidents occur in rural areas where very little improvements have been made to the roads since they where initially metalled and there is a need to investigate the needs for modern traffic.

Measures to ensure that all users take responsibility for their actions and that enforcement is both consistent and a penalty for those that choose not to accept these responsibilities. The lack of improvements for drink driving related incidents shows that there is both a need for zero tolerance and greater education.

Accidents do not happen but are caused. As stated we need to now find new and innovative ways to improve road safety and further investigation of all accidents to find the cause may stop it happening again. The number of different signs in an area (clutter) could well be confusing to tourists as is amber lighting in areas where there are a number of traffic lights. There could well be a cost benefit in ensuring that all accidents are investigated thoroughly, statistics maintained and lessons learned and acted on.

Theme 2 How should we address these Priorities?

Education should be ongoing and testing not considered as a one off exercise to provide a licence for life. Over the past few years improvements to the basic driving test for motor-cycles and cars have been improved but with the power and speed of modern vehicles there is a need to incremental the car test and further sub-divide the motor-cycle test in order that only the most advanced drivers an motor-cyclists can drive the most powerful vehicles. There may be a need to re-test those that have not either driven a car or motor cycle for a significant period. This is particularly relevant where older men in particular will suddenly decide to go out and purchase a high powered motor bike after not having ridden one for up to twenty years.

Testing should take account of the driving skills needed to use our roads and not necessarily the skills needed to pass a test. Several councils have established very

innovative schemes for targeting and educating specific groups but this needs to be organised and financed on a Scottish basis if they are to have the impact needed.

Our roads system has been evolved since the horse and cart and whilst our Trunk Road Network has been significantly improved and re-aligned some rural roads are in great need of improvement. The number of fatal and serious accidents that occur in rural areas suggests that this needs to be a priority but due to the needs of local authorities will not be done unless pressure can be exerted on them.

A review of all speed limits needs to be considered and in residential areas where appropriate a reduced (20mph) limits used more widely. It might also be the case that variable speed limits could be used to keep traffic moving at a safe speed according to the time of day even on trunk roads. Heavy Goods Vehicles are restricted to 40mph on single carriageway roads and consideration should be given as to the appropriateness of this blanket speed limit.

These days there are many laws that need to be obeyed when using the roads and the police have a very hard job to ensure that all the laws are complied with whilst maintaining relationships with the public. The laws are enacted in order to keep our roads safe for all users and those that do not obey them should be penalised accordingly. Driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs appears to be a problem that is not reducing and there is good reason to suspect that this can only be reduced by a zero tolerance for diving whilst under the influence of drink and drugs. The drug companies should have to mark product with better warnings regarding the effects of the drugs being supplied. Speeding cause’s accidents and those that disobey the law should be penalised in a manner that will assist them to modify their behaviour. Suggestions of variable penalties according to the speed will only encourage drivers to push the limits and should be resisted. If roads will take a higher speed limit than currently set then changes to the limits should be investigated. The current laws on the use of mobile phones are clearly being disregarded by many and this issue needs to be addressed. Many of the laws are being disregarded by road users and the police have finite resources. The cost of accidents is very high and it could prove more cost effective to pay for additional policing and reduce the casualties. Many adult cyclists feel that the laws do not apply to them and they need to be targeted for further education. It may be that being forced to attend relevant further education is a better penalty than a monitory fine.

Theme 3 How should Road Safety be Organised?

Currently we have 32 councils setting agenda’s for Road Safety or not and it would appear that this function would be more consistent if organised by the 3 Regional Transport Partnerships. These partnerships coincide in most cases with Police and Fire and Rescue areas and this may make it easier to administer. Local authorities would still be responsible for rolling out the programmes set but adjoining councils would be able to work together on specific projects. National agencies that are involved in Road Safety should be encouraged to work together within a National Road Safety network to produced joined up strategies taking account of current laws. It is accepted that devolved authority in Scotland is quite prohibitive and there is a need to work within the current framework whilst attempting to increase this authority to take account of the needs within Scotland.

Theme 4 How could Road Safety be funded more effectively?

With the removal of Ring Fencing for local authorities and the constraints on funding there is a need to arrange funding centrally. Some monies should be withheld from local authorities and distributed to the transport partnerships. The cost of accidents has to take into account the full costs and therefore reductions will reduce costs on the police, fire and rescue and health service. Improved Road Safety will reduce costs and there maybe justification in a re-distribution of transport costs.

Young people use very different forms of networking and consideration should be given to ensuring that all forms of communication are used.

All forms of sponsorship should be actively investigated to get the Road Safety message out to all road users.

Theme 5 What can we learn from others?

Every country has policies for Road Safety and each has different emphasis due to the geography of the country and the economic situation. It can be seen by the studies in this document and by others that there are a wide variety of innovative schemes for improving Road Safety and consideration needs to be given as to what can work in Scotland.

Some of the schemes outlined require a radical re-think in policy such as the Netherlands concepts of uniform and forgiving road design and the Finish ‘Goals for Driver Education’ that focuses driving being part of education for life skills.

Several countries have undertaken work to separate traffic in opposing lanes in single carriageway roads and when current thinking in Scotland seems to be to replace roundabouts with traffic signals it is interesting to note the Swedish decision to increase their use.

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