4. People aged 17 or over: driving licences, frequency of driving, frequency of driving in congested traffic. Adults (16+): level of concern about traffic growth
4.1 In the second part of the SHS interview, one randomly-chosen adult (16+) member of the household is asked about his/her circumstances and views. The interviewer asks about the type (if any) of driving licence that the randomly-chosen adult holds, and then asks those who hold full driving licences how often they drive nowadays. It should be noted that, because a full driving licence is only available to those who are aged 17 or over, most of the statistics in this section, and in Tables 3 to 5, relate only to people aged 17+.
4.2 Driving licences - people aged 17+
4.2.1 The right-hand side of Table 3 shows that, in 2005/2006, almost two-thirds (66%) of people aged 17+ said that they had a full driving licence (car or motorcycle). Chart B shows that the percentage of people aged 17+ who held a full driving licence was lowest in large urban areas (58%) and highest in rural areas (79-80%). Table 3 shows that Glasgow (47%), Dundee (54%) and Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire (both 57%) were the Council areas with the lowest percentages; Aberdeenshire (83%) and East Renfrewshire, Perth & Kinross and Shetland (all 79%) had the highest values. Table 4 shows that, among the RTPs, the figure varied from 60% for Strathclyde to 79% for Zetland.
4.3 Frequency of driving - people aged 17+
4.3.1 The left-hand columns of Table 3 show that, overall, 41% of people aged 17+ said they drove every day, a further 12% said that they drove at least three times per week (but not every day), 6% said that they drove once or twice a week, and smaller percentages drove less often or held a driving licence but "never drive nowadays".
4.3.2 Chart B shows that 53% of people aged 17+ living in "accessible" rural areas drove every day, as did 49% of those in "remote" rural areas, compared with only 33% in large urban areas. Table 3 shows that the percentages driving at least three times per week (but not every day) were also higher in rural areas (15-17%) than in urban areas (10-11%).
4.3.3 The percentage who drove every day was highest for Aberdeenshire (57%) and East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and Moray (all 51-54%) and lowest for Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow (all 25-29%). Table 4 shows that the RTPs' figures ranged from 38% for Tayside & Central to 49% for North-East. Table 3 shows that the percentage who drove at least three times a week (but not every day) ranged from 8-9% in some Councils to 21% in Perth & Kinross and 25% in Shetland.
4.4 Possession of a full driving licence and the frequency of driving - changes between 1999/2000 and 2005/2006 - people aged 17+
4.4.1 Table 4 compares the figures for the four two-year periods. It should be noted that the way in which the information was collected changed with effect from April 2003. Until then, the interviewer had asked the Highest Income Householder (or his/her spouse/partner) about the type (if any) of driving licence held by each adult member of the household, and the frequency of driving of those who held a full driving licence - so some of the answers used not to be provided by the person to whom they related. This may have caused a break between 2001/2002 and 2003/2004 in some of the series. Otherwise, there are few large changes, either in any of the types of areas across Scotland or in any RTP areas. A few apparently "statistically significant" changes may arise purely by chance, due to sampling variability ( see paragraph 10.8). The occasional case with an apparent slight fall between one period and the next in the percentage holding a full driving licence may reflect sampling variability rather than a genuine drop.
4.5 Frequency of driving in congested traffic - people aged 17+
4.5.1 The interviewer asks people who said that they drove at least once per week how often they drove in congested traffic. The left-hand side of Table 5 shows the results. Overall, in 2005/2006, 41% of people aged 17+ either did not have a driving licence or drove less than once a week. The remaining 59% (who drove at least once a week) comprised 17% who said that they drove in congested traffic at least three times per week, 21% who said that they did so at least once a month (but less than 3 times per week) and 21% who drove in congested traffic less than once a month (if ever).
4.5.2 Experience of driving frequently in congested traffic varied across Scotland: only 5% of people aged 17+ living in "remote" rural areas, and only 9% in "remote" small towns, drove in congested traffic at least 3 times per week compared with 16-19% of those living in other types of area. The percentage who drove in congested traffic at least three times per week varied from just 1-4% in Eilean Siar, Orkney and Shetland to 24-30% in Aberdeen City, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian, and South Lanarkshire; the RTP areas with the highest figures were North-East (21%) and Strathclyde (19%).
4.6 Level of concern about traffic growth in Scotland - adults (16+)
4.6.1 The interviewer asks all the randomly-chosen adults (including those who do not have a driving licence) how concerned they would say they are by the increase in the amount of traffic on Scotland's roads. The right-hand part of Table 5 shows that, overall, 20% said that they were "very concerned", 38% that they were "quite concerned", 21% "not very concerned" and 17% "not concerned at all". A small percentage had no view.
4.6.2 Again, there was variation across Scotland. The percentage who were "very concerned" ranged from 15% in "remote" small towns and 16% in "remote" rural areas to 19-21% in other types of area; "remote" small towns and rural areas also had only 50-51% who said that they were either "very concerned" or "quite concerned" compared with 59-60% in other types of area. The differences between Council areas were more marked: only 8% of adults in Dumfries & Galloway, Orkney and Shetland said that they were "very concerned" by the growth in traffic on Scotland's roads whereas East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire had 30-32% saying "very concerned". The RTPs' figures were between 8% and 22%. Only about 35-36% of adults in Dumfries & Galloway, Orkney and Shetland said that they were "very concerned" or "quite concerned" compared with 58% for Scotland as a whole and 72% in East Dunbartonshire. RTPs' figures were between 35% (Zetland) and 64% (North-East).