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Road Accidents Scotland 2002
2. Accidents
2.1 Accidents by road type and severity( see Table 4)
Table 4 shows separate figures for trunk roads and for local authority roads. Trunk roads accounted for only small proportions of the total numbers of accidents in 2002: very roughly, around a third of fatal accidents, around a sixth of the total of fatal and serious accidents, and around a seventh of all accidents. The trunk road network's shares of accident numbers in previous years were broadly similar.
When looking at changes over time in the numbers of accidents by type of road, one must remember that the changes for different types of road will be affected by the transfer of traffic away from some roads by the opening of city and town bypasses, and by the construction of new roads with higher average traffic volumes. Therefore, such figures do not provide an accurate measure of the comparative change in the road safety performance of different types of road.
Several changes were made to the trunk road network with effect from 1st April 1996. Annex E refers to them, and explains why the 1994-98 averages for trunk roads and for local authority major roads have been calculated by counting accidents which occurred prior to 1st April 1996 on the basis of whether they occurred on roads which were part of the "post- 1 April 1996" trunk road network.
2.2 Accident rates( see Table 5)
Accident rates showing the number of accidents per 100 million vehicle kilometres are contained in parts B and C of table 5. These are calculated by dividing the numbers of accidents on each type of road by the estimated volumes of traffic on those roads, which were provided by the Department for Transport, and which are available for all types of road with effect from 1993.
Accident rates have fallen markedly since the early 1990s. The overall fatal accident rate has dropped from 0.82 per 100 million vehicle kilometres in 1993 to 0.53 in 2002; the "fatal and serious" accident rate fell from 9.13 to 5.69; and the overall accident rate (all severities) reduced from 37.98 per 100 million vehicle kilometres to 27.67. Motorways had consistently lower accident rates than A roads. Leaving aside the relatively low rate for fatal accidents, minor roads (taken together as a group) tend to have higher accident rates than major roads, and accident rates tend to be higher for "built-up" roads (roads with speed limits of up to 40mph) than for "non built-up" roads (ones with higher speed limits).
Estimates for the total volume of traffic by police force area are now available for all roads back to 1993 on a consistent basis. Part C of the table shows that estimated accident rates vary considerably by police force area. Some of this variation may be attributed to the distribution of traffic by road type within individual areas. The accident rates were calculated by dividing the total number of accidents which occurred in each five year period by the total of the estimated volumes of traffic for the same period.
2.3 Accidents by month by road type( see Table 6)
The numbers of injury accidents over the years 1998-2002 were fairly evenly spread throughout the year, with a minor peak in November, which was 13% above the average monthly number of accidents. Fatal and serious accidents (taken together) were similarly well spread across the months, and their minor peak, which occurred in August, was 16% above the monthly average. (To allow more equitable comparisons the months are standardised to 30 days.)
On average, there were 25 fatal accidents per month in the years 1998 to 2002. The number did not vary greatly between the months: the lowest average was 21, and the highest was 31.
2.4 Accidents by light condition and road surface condition( see Table 7)
The severity of accidents is associated with the light and road surface conditions, and also with whether the accident occurs on a built-up road or on a non built-up road. Presumably, because of the higher average speeds on non built-up roads, severity rates are higher on non built-up roads than on built-up roads. And presumably, because of poorer visibility, severity rates are higher in darkness than in daylight. For example, taking the annual averages for 1998-2002, 4.7% of injury road accidents on non built-up roads in darkness (75 out of 1,588) resulted in one (or more) deaths compared with 1.5% of accidents on built-up roads in darkness (42 out of 2,732) and 3.5% of accidents on non built-up roads in daylight (133 out of 3,812). Similarly, the percentage of accidents classified as either fatal or serious is higher for non built-up roads in darkness than for either built-up roads in darkness or non built-up roads in daylight.
Severity rates did not appear to be higher when the road surface condition was wet, damp or flooded, or affected by snow, frost or ice. For example, taking the annual averages for 1998 to 2002, the percentage of accidents on non built-up roads classified as fatal or serious when the road surface condition was dry was 31.2% (737 out of 2,362) compared with 26.7% (688 out of 2,578) when the surface was wet and 19.6% (84 out of 428) when it was affected by snow, frost or ice.
3. Motorists, breath testing and drink-driving
3.1 Car driver accident rates( see Table 18)
All car drivers involved in injury accidents are included in this table, whether they were injured or not, on the basis of whatever information is known about their ages and their sex. For example, someone whose sex was known, but whose age was not known, will be included in the "all ages" total for the appropriate sex. The grand total includes those for whom neither the age nor the sex was known.
As the car driver accident rates that are shown for each sex and age group are on a "per head of population" basis, rather than being based upon the numbers of driving licence holders or upon the distance driven, they can provide only a general indication of the relative accident rates for each group. The statistics do not provide a measure of the relative risk of each group as car drivers, because they do not take account of the differing levels of car driving by each group.
Car driver accident rates per head of population vary markedly by age and sex. In 2002, the overall rate was 4.3 per thousand population aged 17+. The peak occurs for males in the 17-22 age group, with a rate of 10.3 per thousand population in 2002. This rate is more than double that for females of the same age (4.3 per thousand in 2002), and is almost double the rate for males aged 30-59 (5.7 per thousand in 2002).
The overall male car driver accident rate in 2002 (5.8 per thousand) was less than in the previous year, and this was the case for each group apart from the 60+ age group, for whom the rate increased from 2.9 to 3.0 per thousand population. The overall female car driver accident rate in 2002 (2.9 per thousand) was a reduction on the previous year, and this was the case for each group apart from the 60+ for whom the rate did not change.
Between 1992 and 2002, the male car driver accident rate fell from 7.8 to 5.8 per thousand population, whereas the female car driver accident rate remained around 3.0 per thousand population (with some year-to-year fluctuations). As a result, the overall, ratio of male to female car driver accident rates has fallen from 2.7 : 1 for 1992 to 2.0 : 1 in 2002.
3.2 Breath testing of drivers( see Tables 19, 20 and 21)
These tables cover all motorists who were known to be involved in injury road accidents (the figures do not include, for example, those involved in "hit and run" accidents who were not traced). For these tables, a motorist is defined as the driver or the rider of a motor vehicle, including (e.g.) a motorcyclist.
In 2002, 63% of motorists involved in accidents were asked for a breath test (the percentage varied among the police forces, from about 46% to around 83%). The breath test proved positive (or the motorist refused to take the test) for 3.5% of those drivers breathalysed. This represented 2.2% of the total number of motorists involved (including those who were not asked for a breath test). While these percentages have not changed much in the past five years, the number of "positive / refused breath test" cases fell from 548 in 1998 to 506 in 2002.
Tables 20 and 21 show the figures for each time of day on different days of the week (Table 20 gives the averages for 1998 to 2002), and for a number of years (Table 21). In 2002, 42% of the "positive / refused" cases occurred between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.: 83 between 9 p.m. and midnight, plus 129 between midnight and 3 a.m., out of a total of 506. The number of "positive / refused" cases, expressed as a percentage of motorists involved in accidents, was highest (at 15 - 16%) between midnight and 6 a.m., but varied depending upon the day of the week, from 9.2% (the average for 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. for Mondays to Thursdays) to 21.4% (3 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Sundays), using 1998 to 2002 averages. The period from 9 p.m. to midnight had the second highest number of "positive / refused" cases, but the equivalent percentages were not as high (varying between about 4% and 8%), because between 9 p.m. and midnight there were many more accidents than between midnight and 3 a.m.
3.3 Drink-drive accidents and casualties( see Table 22)
Table 22 shows the estimates (made by the Department for Transport) of the numbers of injury road accidents involving illegal alcohol levels. They are higher than the number of drivers with positive breath test results (or who refused to take the breath test) because they include allowances for the numbers of cases where drivers were not breath tested because of the severity of their injuries, or because they left the scene of the accident. Information about the blood alcohol levels of road users who died within 12 hours of being injured in a road accident is supplied by the Procurators Fiscal.
The estimates show that the numbers of drink-drive accidents and casualties fell by 19% and 21% respectively between 1991 and 2001 (the latest year for which estimates are available): from about 990 to roughly 800 (accidents) and from around 1,510 to some 1,190 (casualties). While fluctuating from year to year, the number of people killed as a result of drink-drive accidents is estimated to have fallen from about 80 in 1991 to around 70 in 2001. The number of serious casualties is estimated to have dropped by around two fifths (from roughly 400 in 1991 to some 250 in 2001).
4. Casualties
4.1 Casualties by type of road( see Table 23)
In 2002, "non built-up" roads accounted for two-fifths of the total number of casualties (41%: 7,854 out of 19,248). However, presumably because average speeds are higher on non built-up roads than elsewhere, they accounted for over three quarters of those killed (76%: 231 out of 305) and for over half of the total number of killed and seriously injured combined (51%: 1,808 out of 3,518).
Compared with 1992, the fall in the total number of casualties has been greater for built-up roads (23%) than elsewhere (16%), and the difference between the two types of road is even greater for the numbers killed (down by 56% for built-up roads compared with 22% elsewhere). However, over the years, some traffic will have been transferred away from built-up roads by the opening of city and town bypasses, and by the construction of non built-up roads with higher average traffic volumes. Therefore, these figures do not provide an accurate measure of the comparative change in the road safety performance of "built-up" and "non built-up" roads.
4.2 Casualties by mode of transport( see Table 23)
A total of 11,822 car users were injured in road accidents in 2002, representing 61% of all casualties. Of these car users, 155 died. There were 3,309 pedestrian casualties (17% of the total), of whom 73 died, 828 pedal cycle casualties (4% of the total), of whom 8 died, and 1,164 motorcycle casualties (6% of the total), of whom 46 died. Because of the numbers of car user, pedestrian, pedal cyclist and motor cyclist casualties, the figures for each of these four groups of road users are the subject of separate sections, which follow this one, and are followed by a section on child casualties, which gives details of their modes of transport.
Together, all the modes of transport other than the four mentioned above accounted for 2,125 casualties in 2002 (11% of the total), and for smaller percentages of the numbers of killed and seriously injured. These included 859 bus and coach users injured in 2002, of whom 59 suffered serious injuries (none died) - these low proportions presumably being due to the greater protection of their passengers by buses and coaches. There were also 390 casualties who were travelling in light goods vehicles, 369 people in heavy goods vehicles, 248 users of taxis, 114 users of minibuses and 145 people with another means of transport.
4.3 Car user casualties
A total of 11,822 car users were injured in road accidents in 2002, representing 61% of all casualties. Of these people, a total of 1,775 were either killed or seriously injured, 155 of whom died. Non built-up roads accounted for a little over half of all car user casualties (53%: 6,280 out of 11,822). Presumably because average speeds are higher on non-built up roads, they accounted for much higher percentages of the total numbers of car users who were killed (91%: 141 out of 155) or were killed or seriously injured (72%: 1,280 out of 1,775). ( see Table 23)
The number of car users killed in 2002 was 20% less than the 2001 figure, the number who were killed or seriously injured fell by 9% and in the total number of casualties of all severities was down by 4%. Since 1992, the number killed has dropped by 30%, and there have been falls of 35% in the number who were killed or seriously injured and of 13% in the total number of car user casualties. ( see Table 23)
Looking at annual averages over the years 1998-2002, the killed and seriously injured casualty rate for 16-22 year old car users was 1.12 per thousand population. This was much higher than the rate for car users in the older age groups, which varied from 0.27 to 0.66 per thousand population. ( see Table 32)
On average, over the years 1998-2002, about three-quarters of car user fatalities occurred on roads with a speed limit of 60mph. Such roads accounted for about two thirds of those car users who were killed or seriously injured, but for only around two fifths of the total number of car user casualties (of all severities). ( see Table 33)
Adult car users
On weekdays, the peak time for adult car user casualties was from 4pm to 6pm. The 5pm to 6pm average of 739 (the annual average for the years 1998-2002) was 22% higher than the average of 605 in the morning 8am to 9am peak. ( see Table 28)
Adult car user casualties varied by month, with fewer in the period between March and May (inclusive) and more between October and December. The peak month was November, which had 31% more adult car user casualties than the lowest month, March (annual averages over the years 1998-2002; months standardised to 30 days). ( see Table 29)
Friday had the peak numbers of adult car user casualties over the years 1998-2002 with 17% more than the average daily number of adult car user casualties. ( see Table 30)
4.4 Pedestrian casualties
There were 3,309 pedestrian casualties in 2002: 17% of all casualties. Of these, 886 were killed or seriously injured (73 died). Presumably because of the greater vulnerability of pedestrians, a high proportion (25%) of the total number of people who were killed or seriously injured were pedestrians. In addition, 27% of pedestrian casualties were fatally or seriously injured (886 out of 3,309) compared with 18% of all casualties (3,518 out of 19,248). About 95% of pedestrian casualties occurred on built-up roads (3,136 out of 3,309). Perhaps because of higher average speeds on non built-up roads, 45% of the pedestrian casualties on such roads were killed or seriously injured (78 out of 173) compared with 26% on built-up roads (808 out of 3,136). ( see Table 23)
Both the number of pedestrians killed and seriously injured and the overall number of pedestrian casualties in 2002 were 3% less than in 2001. Since 1992, the number of pedestrians killed has fallen by 55%, the number who were killed or seriously injured has dropped by 49%, and there has been a 38% reduction in the total number of pedestrian casualties. Looking at the annual average for the period 1998 to 2002, the pedestrian fatality rate was higher for those aged 70+ (0.04 per thousand population) than for any other age-group. However, the 12-15 age-group had the highest 'killed and serious' and 'all severities' pedestrian casualty rates (0.51 and 2.02 per thousand population, respectively). The corresponding casualty rates for the 5-11 age-group were only slightly lower. ( see Tables 23 & 32)
The overall pedestrian 'all severities' casualty rate for males was 0.91 per thousand population, compared with 0.54 per thousand for females, using the averages for the period 1998 to 2002. ( see Table 34)
Adult pedestrian casualties
On average, in the period 1998 to 2002, on weekdays, the peak time for adult pedestrian casualties was from 4pm to 6pm; at weekends it was from midnight to 2am. ( see Table 28)
December was the peak month for adult pedestrian casualties, with 40% more than the monthly average. Adult pedestrian casualties in the four "winter" months, November to February, were 25% more than the monthly average (annual averages over the years 1998-2002; months standardised to 30 days). ( see Table 29)
Friday has the highest number of adult pedestrian casualties; 22% more than the daily average over the period 1998 to 2002. ( see Table 30)
In 2002, 10% of adult pedestrian casualties involved in single vehicle accidents were recorded as crossing the road within 50 metres of a pedestrian crossing, 1% were within the "zig-zag" around the crossing, and 10% were recorded as being on a pedestrian crossing. ( see Table 35)
4.5 Pedal Cycle Casualties
There were 828 pedal cycle casualties in 2002, 10% less than the previous year. The combined total of killed and seriously injured pedal cycle casualties in 2002 was 150, 12% less than in 2001. There were 8 pedal cycle fatalities in 2002, two fewer than in 2001. Since 1992 there has been a 36% reduction in all pedal cycle casualties, the number who were killed or seriously injured has fallen by 32%, and the number of fatalities has fluctuated between 5 and 18. 88% of pedal cycle casualties in 2002 were on built-up roads. ( see Table 23)
In terms of the averages for the period 1998 to 2002, the pedal cycle casualty rate per head of population was highest for those aged 12-15 (0.52 per thousand population). The other age groups with above-average casualty rates were: 5-11, 16-22, 23-29 and 30-39. Of course, it must be remembered that, as noted earlier, "per capita" casualty rates do not provide a measure of the relative risk, because they do not take account of the levels of usage of (in this case) pedal cycles. ( see Table 32)
Adult pedal cycle casualties
Using the averages for the period 1998 to 2002, on weekdays, the peak numbers of adult pedal cycle casualties were from 4pm to 6pm and from 7 am to 9 am. At weekends the numbers were smaller, and there was no clear peak. ( see Table 28)
The peak month of the year for adult pedal cycle casualties was August, which was 35% more than the monthly average (1998-2002 annual averages, standardised to 30 days). ( see Table 29)
The days of the week with the peak numbers of adult pedal cycle casualties were Tuesday and Wednesday, 25% higher than the daily average, over the years 1998-2002. There were substantially fewer adult pedal cycle casualties on Saturday and Sunday, with 38% and 42% less than the daily average respectively. ( see Table 30)
4.6 Motorcyclist casualties
A total of 1,164 motorcyclists were injured in road accidents in 2002, representing 6% of all casualties. Of these, 457 were either killed or seriously injured, of whom 46 died. Under half of all motorcyclist casualties occurred on non built-up roads but (presumably because of their higher average speeds) such roads accounted for about three-fifths of those killed or seriously injured, and over four-fifths of those killed. ( see Table 23)
The number of motorcyclist casualties in 2002 was 1% less than in the previous year. The number killed also fell by 6% - but there was a rise of 1% in the number who were killed or seriously injured. Over the period since 1992, the total number of motorcyclist casualties at first fell (from 1,237 in 1992 to 850 in 1996) before rising in each of the next five years. The figure for all casualties in 2002 was 6% lower than in 1992. However, 8 more motorcyclists died in 2002 than in 1992. ( see Table 23)
On average, over the years 1998 to 2002, the motorcyclist casualty rate was highest for the 16-22 year old age group (0.49 per thousand population), closely followed by the 23-29 and 30-39 age groups (both 0.48 per thousand population). Other age-groups had much smaller casualty rates. ( see Table 32)
Looking at the averages for the period 1998 to 2002, the peak time of day for motorcyclist casualties was 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays ( See Table 28), the peak month of the year was August, with relatively high numbers in the other months from May to September ( see Table 29) and there were more casualties on Sundays than on any of the other days ( see Table 30)
4.7 Child casualties
There were 2,745 child casualties in 2002, representing a seventh of the total number of casualties of all ages (14%: 2,745 out of 19,248). Of the child casualties, 525 were killed or seriously injured, of whom 14 died ( see Table 24).
The number of child fatalities in 2002 was six fewer than in 2001 and there were falls of 3% and 6% respectively in the number of children killed or seriously injured and in the total number of child casualties. Since 1998, the number of children killed has fallen by eighteen, there has been a reduction of 25% in child killed and seriously injured casualties, and a 22% fall in the total number of child casualties. ( see Table 25)
In terms of the averages for the period 1998 to 2002, on weekdays, the peak time for child casualties was from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with 28% of all weekday casualties in those two hours. A further 28% occurred in the three hours between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.. There was a smaller peak in the morning, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.. There was no real clear peak at weekends: the numbers of casualties were very broadly the same each hour from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.. ( see Table 27)
August was the peak month for child casualties, with 21% more than in an average month. May had 10% more than an average month, and September 6% more (1998-2002 annual averages, standardised to 30 days). ( see Table 29)
Using the averages for 1998 to 2002, Friday was the peak day of the week for child casualties, with 21% more than an average day. Sunday, on the other hand, had 21% fewer than an average day. ( see Table 30)
Child casualties by mode of transport
In 2002, there were 1,294 child pedestrian casualties. They accounted for 39% of all pedestrian casualties of all ages (1,294 out of 3,309). Of the child pedestrian casualties, 338 were killed or seriously injured (12 died). ( see Table 24)
There were 277 child pedal cycle casualties in 2002 (33% of the total of 828 pedal cycle casualties of all ages). The child pedal cycle casualties included 46 killed and seriously injured, of whom none died. ( see Table 24)
In 2002, there were 928 child casualties in cars, 8% of the total number of car user casualties of all ages (928 out of 11,822). Of the child casualties in cars, 111 were killed or seriously injured (2 died). ( see Tables 23 & 25)
Child casualty rates (per head of population)
Children's casualty rates (per head of population) increase with age: for children aged 0-4 the rate was 1.53 per thousand population (the average for the period 1998 to 2002), whereas it was 3.53 per thousand for those aged 5-11 and for the 12-15 age group it was 4.22 per thousand. The pedestrian casualty rate for younger children (0-4 years) was only about a third of those for 5-11 and 12-15 year olds. ( see Table 32)
The pedestrian casualty rate for boys in the 5-11 age group was almost twice that for girls, but for 12-15 year olds the gap was less marked (1.74 per thousand females and 2.28 per thousand males). The difference between the sexes was even more pronounced in the case of the "driver or rider" casualty rates, particularly for the 12-15 age group. ( see Table 34)
Child pedestrian casualty rates in 2002 for killed and seriously injured (combined) and for all severities, at 0.40 and 1.56 per thousand child population respectively, were roughly double the corresponding rates for pedestrian casualties of all ages. ( see Table 32)
5. Comparisons of Scottish figures against those of other countries
5.1 Casualty rates: against England & Wales( see Tables A to D)
Historically, the "killed" and "killed and seriously injured" casualty rates per head of population in Scotland have been above those for England & Wales, whereas the "all severities" casualty rate has been lower in Scotland than in England & Wales. In 2002, Scotland's casualty rates were 1% higher (killed), 2% higher (killed and serious) and 30% lower (all severities). In all three cases, this represented an improvement in the position in Scotland relative to that in England & Wales (compared with 1994-98).
For years, the Scottish child casualty rates per head of population have been higher than those of England & Wales for "killed and seriously injured" and slightly lower for "all severities". The (relatively low) rate per head of population for "killed" used to be higher in Scotland but in 2002 was below that of England and Wales. In 2002, the Scottish rates were 8% lower (killed), 40% higher (killed and seriously injured) and 6% lower (all severities). In all these cases, this represented an improvement in Scotland's figures relative to England & Wales compared with the 1994-98 average.
It should be noted that the ratio of the fatality rates for Scotland and for England and Wales can fluctuate markedly from year to year, particularly for the child fatality rates due to the relatively small numbers in Scotland, (which may be subject to year-to-year changes which are large in percentage terms). Therefore subsequent paragraphs do not refer to the fatality rates for children using different modes of transport. In addition, it should be remembered that the rates for some other sub-groups may be affected by year-to-year fluctuations: for example, the numbers are relatively small for most categories of child "killed and seriously injured" casualties in Scotland.
The casualty rates of car users in Scotland have for many years been substantially higher than those of England & Wales for "killed" and "killed and seriously injured" casualties, while for "all severities" the rate has been much lower. In 2002, Scotland's car user fatality rate was only 2% higher than that of England & Wales, the "killed and seriously injured" rate was 10% higher, while the "all severity" car user rate was 33% lower. For child car users, the "killed and seriously injured" rate was 49% higher in Scotland and the "all severities" rate was 18% less than that of England and Wales.
In 2002, the pedestrian fatality rate per capita was 8% higher in Scotland than England & Wales, the "killed and seriously injured" rate in Scotland was 19% higher and the "all severities" rate was 3% lower. The child pedestrian casualty rates in Scotland were much higher than those for England & Wales: 48% higher ("killed and seriously injured") and 9% higher (all severities).
The casualty rates for pedal cyclists of all ages in Scotland were substantially lower than in England & Wales in 2002 for "killed and seriously injured" (32% lower) and for "all severities" (47% lower). The child pedal cycle casualty "all severities" rate was also lower in Scotland than in England & Wales. These differences may reflect the fact that, according to the National Travel Survey, on average, people in Scotland do not travel as far by bicycle as people in England and Wales.
Further information about the numbers of casualties in England and Wales, and for Great Britain as a whole, can be found in "Road Casualties Great Britain 2002", which is published by the Department for Transport.
5.2 Road deaths : international comparison 2001( see Tables E and F)
This section compares Scotland's road death rates in 2001 with the fatality rates of some countries in Western Europe and some developed countries world-wide. The comparisons involve a total of 30 countries (including Scotland, and counting England and Wales as one country, and Northern Ireland as another country) and also figures for the European Union as a whole. The fatality rates were calculated on a "per capita" basis (the statistics given are rates per million population), and the countries were then listed in order of their fatality rates in Table E sections (a), (b) and (c). Section (d) of the table ranks countries by a set of car user fatality rates which were calculated on a "per motor vehicle" basis (the statistics given are rates per million motor vehicles).
The figures used for foreign countries were obtained in October 2003 from tables on the International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) Web site. The IRTAD Web site address is http://www.bast.de/htdocs/fachthemen/irtad//english/englisch.html.
In accordance with the commonly agreed international definition, most countries define a fatality as being due to a road accident if death occurs within 30 days of the accident. However, the official road accident statistics of some countries limit the fatalities to those occurring within shorter periods after the accident. The numbers of deaths, and the death rates, which appear in the IRTAD tables take account of the adjustment factors used by the Economic Commission for Europe and the European Conference of Ministers of Transport to represent standardised 30-day numbers of deaths.
In 2001, Scotland's overall road death rate of 69 per million population was the sixth lowest of the 30 countries surveyed, and was only 65% of the EU average (which was 106 per million population).
However, Scotland's overall road safety position does not appear as good when the fatality rates of pedestrians are considered separately. In 2001, Scotland's pedestrian fatality rate was 15 per million population, the same as the EU average. Scotland ranked seventeenth of the 30 countries surveyed.
When the car user fatality rate is calculated on a per capita basis, Scotland has a low car user fatality rate (39 per million population the seventh lowest). However, it may be argued that the car user fatality rate should be calculated on "per motor vehicle" basis, in order to try to approximate better the differing levels of car use in different countries, and hence reflect differences between countries in car drivers' "exposure to risk". (Rates based on the amount of car traffic in each country would be even better, but the data required to calculate them are not available for some countries.) When car user fatality rates are calculated on a "per motor vehicle" basis, Scotland's car user fatality rate of 88 per million motor vehicles was the tenth best out of the 30 countries surveyed. The rate for England and Wales was 57 per million motor vehicles, and the EU average was 99.
The fatality rates per head of population for 28 countries (including Scotland) are shown, for each of four broad age-groups, in Table F. In this table, reflecting the availability of figures from IRTAD there are figures for the United Kingdom, but no separate figures for "England and Wales" and "Northern Ireland"; also there are no figures for the EU as a whole. In most cases, Scotland has one of the lowest rates per capita. The Scottish rate is the tenth lowest for child casualties aged 0-14, the ninth lowest for those aged 15-24, the sixth lowest for those aged 25-64 and the lowest for those aged 65+.
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