Families of road death victims ‘should have full access to investigation reports’

BEREAVED families of road death victims in Scotland should be given full access to investigation reports relating to the tragedy, according to a new report by academics at a leading Law School.

And the report by researchers at the School of Law at Dundee University, commissioned by Scotland’s Campaign against Irresponsible Drivers (SCID), is also calling for the establishment of an independent road collision investigation body as part of the Government’s road safety strategy.

The report claims: “Scots law is not fulfilling the victim’s rights strategy. There is no legal right for the family of a road death victim to obtain the investigation documents. Access to the investigation documents is at the discretion of the Procurator Fiscal. This leads to inconsistencies in service and secondary victimisation.

“Scotland’s road safety framework ignores the vital area of post impact care which is an essential ingredient of an effective road safety strategy.”

Jenny Marra, the North east Labour MSP, was presented with the first copy of the report in Dundee. And she pledged:” I will bring the recommendations to the attention of the Scottish Parliament at the earliest opportunity.”

Ms Marra continued: “This is an excellent report setting out clear and sensible recommendations to bring Scotland’s fatal road collision investigations up to the standard of other European nations.

“It is a traumatic time for families when they lose a loved one on the roads, but it is only made more difficult when they can’t get all the information about what happened. I think it’s only right that families are given this information, so they can have peace of mind and a full understanding of what happened.

“An independent body to investigate all fatal road traffic accidents, like that in Finland, would improve road safety by learning from previous tragedies and trying to prevent further accidents. This is an important recommendation.”

Joyce Beasley, chair of of SCID, said, “Whatever the circumstances of a road death, it is SCID’s experience that bereaved families will wish to access as much information as possible about the fatal collision and that having access to that information will aid the grieving process.”