Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Official Report 711KB pdf

---

Topical Question Time

---

Road Traffic Statistics

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recently published road traffic statistics. (S4T-01018)

Transport Scotland will publish the official road safety statistics for 2014 in our document “Key Reported Road Casualties” on 17 June 2015. We will base our assessment on those official statistics. The road safety framework to 2020 sets ambitious and challenging targets and sets out a range of education, engineering and enforcement measures, which all play a key role in our comprehensive approach. The road safety strategic partnership board is conducting a strategic mid-term review during 2015 of the progress that has been made under the framework.

The minister will be well aware that the number of road deaths increased by seven from 2013 to 2014. Although fewer people in cars and on bikes died, there has been an increase in the number of pedestrians and motorcyclists killed. Stuart Hay from Living Streets Scotland has said:

“the pedestrian safety battle is far from won”.

Will the minister clarify the Scottish Government’s plans to make our streets safer for all road users, particularly pedestrians and motorcyclists, in light of the figures?

As I have said, we will be publishing our statistics and our response to them. Of course, any casualty, injury or fatality is to be regretted. I take road safety very seriously and have worked closely with partners on it since my appointment. I know that David Stewart, too, cares very deeply about road safety. We have been able to undertake a range of actions in education in particular and will continue to do that.

On wider road safety issues, I think that it was right to lower Scotland’s drink-drive limit. That was the right approach, which may well be copied elsewhere if media reports are to be believed. We have had high-profile publicity campaigns such as the road safety campaign and the recently launched live fast, die old campaign, which urges motorcyclists to stay safe, particularly on bends and during the biking season. We have had a country roads campaign featuring David Coulthard and we work closely with roads officials and roads authorities.

We also published new guidance on 20mph zones to encourage their deployment across the country, and the City of Edinburgh Council is very much leading the way on that. We have also had careful and considered use of average speed cameras on the A9. However, education will be central to our efforts and I will continue to work with a number of partners to ensure that our roads are safer for all.

Minister—sorry, Mr Stewart.

Maybe in the future, Presiding Officer. [Laughter.]

Young motorists, particularly men under 25, are a high-risk group for death and injury on our roads. Does the minister agree with my campaign for a graduated driving licence scheme, which Dr Sarah Jones of Cardiff University said would save 22 young lives in Scotland and more than £80 million? Will the minister seek an urgent meeting with Patrick McLoughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport, to support my bid for Scotland to pilot the graduated scheme within the UK?

Minister.

While not necessarily agreeing with Mr Stewart’s ministerial promotion any time soon—if he will forgive me—I would be happy to continue our efforts with the UK Government to promote the graduated scheme and I would be happy to pilot it in Scotland. As the member is well aware, we have made approaches to the UK Government on the issue in the past, and I will continue to do that. If the Labour Party and others want to assist us in that, I will happily take a cross-party approach and try to progress the issue once again.

The minister will be aware of the particular dangers on rural roads such as those in my constituency from—if I may call them this—our fair-weather motorcyclists who see the apparently quiet road as a speedway, forgetting the slow-moving tractor round the corner or the livestock crossing their path. What particular steps can the Government take to educate those leather-clad motorcyclists, who are quite often middle-aged, to take care and not underestimate the dangers that may lie ahead?

As it happens, our campaign for motorcyclists is age targeted, because that is an issue. In terms of geography, there is an issue with rural roads, which is why we had the country roads campaign. As well as taking general road safety measures in education and engineering, we have very focused campaigns for those who will be most receptive to them. Rather than being just a blunt Government message, the campaigns have been market tested. I hope that all of that, as well as the measures that I described in my earlier answer, will assist.

With the use of social media, the campaigns do not necessarily have to be expensive. Intelligent, well-focused, targeted campaigns will help us to address the issue. As I said, any casualty or fatality on the roads is to be regretted. Some of the circumstances might be very specific and individual, but anything that the Government can do to make our roads safer, we will do.

Is the minister’s consideration of engineering measures likely at any time to include further consideration of a grade-separated junction at the junction of the A90 with the A937 at Laurencekirk?

As with all capital investment, it is a matter of specific local engineering solutions. I am aware of the concerns about that junction. We are progressing more works at the moment specifically on that junction to move towards a funding proposition and so on. Where specific engineering solutions can be put in place to make roads safer, we are doing that, and the A9 dualling is an ideal example. Discussion is under way as to how we progress work at Laurencekirk.

I speak as a member who experienced a road death accident in an urban area just last week. The minister will know as well as I do that the speed limit in urban areas in Scotland is 30mph. It is also my understanding that the limit for prosecution, if a driver goes over 30mph, is far in excess of that and is actually nearer 40mph under Crown Office guidance. How many miles per hour over 30mph does the minister think is acceptable for non-prosecution?

The answer that I would like to give is that people must keep to the speed limits per se. What my justice colleagues pursue will be a matter for them. I am happy to write to the member about the issue, and it might be better for me to do that rather than to broadcast something here and now—not that the public at large will be watching, but I do not think that it would be a helpful message to suggest that anyone should flout the speed limits. People should stick to the speed limit that is appropriate to the road.

I am happy to engage in more private communication with the member on the wider justice issues. I am also happy to take the matter up with the road safety partnership and Police Scotland, because I believe that there may well be an issue with the enforceability of our speed limits.