Tough new targets to put country on path to zero road deaths

Published on Monday 15 June 2009 22:47

SCOTLAND is to set the toughest targets in the UK for cutting the toll of deaths and serious accidents on the roads, it was revealed yesterday.

The targets are part of a ten-year plan to improve road safety, which could also include tougher restrictions on new drivers, 20mph speed limits on all residential roads and fitting speed restrictors to all vehicles.

Over the past 20 years the number of people killed in road accidents in Scotland has been reduced by a third.

But the transport minister, Stewart Stevenson, yesterday announced that, for the first time, new and challenging national goals will be set to cut the death and injury toll even further.

The Scottish Government has set its sights on a 40 per cent cut in the number of people killed on Scotland's roads by 2020 and a 55 per cent reduction in the number seriously injured – leading to an ultimate vision of a future where there are no road fatalities north of the Border.

The ambitious safety drive will also be backed by a range of safety initiatives, including plans for a pilot project to fit cars with a device designed to prevent drivers from speeding and the possibility of imposing restrictions on newly qualified drivers.

Launching the ten-year plan in Aberdeen, Mr Stevenson said: "Zero road deaths must always be our ultimate objective. We must never let up on eliminating death and injury from our roads, but it will take a significant period of time to do that.

"We have made significant progress in the last 20 years. But we have to set ourselves even more challenging targets. (Other] countries, particularly in Scandinavia, are doing better than us."

Speaking after a weekend in which a young person was killed in an accident in his own Banff and Buchan constituency, Mr Stevenson said: "Once again we have seen a family grieving and friends experiencing loss, and that is what drives me and people involved in road safety in Scotland to do everything we possibly can to eliminate death and injury from our roads.

"We have got to change driver attitudes and the attitudes of all who use our roads," he added. "That's the big challenge for us over the next ten years.

"We have exceeded the Great Britain targets set in 1999, but it is clear that far too many families across the country are still suffering the heartache of a loved one being lost.

"It is absolutely intolerable that people are still dying on our roads each day, and Scotland needs an ambitious vision in line with other leading countries in road safety. That is what this framework delivers."

The Scottish Government's new framework document sets out proposals to examine the case for restrictions on newly qualified drivers – such as limits on the number of passengers, engine size of the car they drive, and speed – and plans to encourage local councils to introduce 20mph zones in all residential areas and to improve school bus safety.

The use of a voluntary Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) device to prevent motorists from speeding is also to be piloted. ISA is a GPS-based system in which vehicles are fitted with a digital map which contains details of various speed limits. The driver is informed of the speed limit and an on-board computer restricts the vehicle's speed to ensure the limit cannot be exceeded. The driver, however, can choose to override the system.

A government spokesman said: "No decision has been taken on the location of the ISA pilot, who will be involved, or when it will be introduced."

Neil Greig, the policy and research director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "The key theme of personal responsibility is vitally important, as the easy fixes have now all been made.

"The government, councils and police simply cannot continue to reduce deaths on Scotland's roads on their own. Road users need to take more responsibility for themselves, and drivers must begin to treat driving as a skill for life."