This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Making Scotland’s roads safer
13/06/2002
The Executive today stressed its commitment to making Scotland's roads safer as newly published figures showed a six per cent increase in the number of fatal road accidents in 2001.
The Executive has set a target for a 40 per cent reduction in fatal and serious road casualties by 2010 and is working to halve the number of children killed and seriously injured over that period.
347 people died in road accidents last year. This was higher than in the two previous years, although the number of fatal accidents is the third lowest number recorded in the last fifty years. The number of people seriously injured (3,405) fell to its lowest level since records began in 1950.
The Executive funds the Scottish Road Safety Campaign to produce key road safety educational resources and publicity messages. By 2003-04 funding will be double the provision at the start of 2000-01. These extra resources are enabling the SRSC to step up its programme of education and publicity initiatives.
Commenting on figures published in Key 2001 Road Accident Statistics Deputy Transport Minister, Lewis Macdonald said:
"While today's figures show a welcome decline in the numbers of casualties on Scottish roads, I am very concerned at the rise in the number of people killed. On roads in Scotland every week last year, an average of seven people died and 376 were injured, many of them seriously.
"Although unacceptable, the rise in fatal accidents should be seen against a downward trend in which only 1999 and 2000 figures were lower. I am firmly committed, however, to cutting these shocking statistics.
"The figures published today show that good progress is being made towards achieving our target of a 40 per cent reduction in fatal and serious road casualties.
"Our strategy for reducing casualties involves working in partnership with the UK Government, local authorities, the police, road safety organisations, voluntary organisations and the public on a range of measures designed to achieve the targets.
"The Executive is providing funding totalling £810,000 over 6 years to a number of local authorities for pilot schemes to teach five and six year olds practical road safety skills. Priority is being given to schemes in disadvantaged areas, where research has shown that children are at greatest risk of being injured in road accidents.
"Additional funding of £180,000 has enabled the SRSC to produce a television advert, launched on 20 May, which aims to raise awareness of the consequences of drug driving."
In 2000 the Scottish Executive, the UK Government and the National Assembly for Wales announced a new road safety strategy and casualty reduction targets for 2010. The new targets, which were given in the document Tomorrow's roads - safer for everyone, are based on the annual average casualty levels over the period 1994 to 1998, and are for:
- a 40 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents
- a 50 per cent reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured
- a 10 per cent reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres