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Road Accidents Scotland 2002
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
The Scottish Executive publishes a series of reports and research summaries based on road safety research. Research Findings, Full Reports and further information about social research in the Scottish Executive may be viewed on the Internet at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch The Reports may be purchased from The Stationery Office Bookshop - contact details appear towards the foot of the page on Scottish Executive Transport Statistics publications.
Information about the reports published between 1998 and 2003 is given in:
- Review of The Scottish Executive Road Safety Research Programme 1998-2003: 2003 Price 5.00
Information about the reports published between January 1989 and August 1997 is given in:
- Review of The Scottish Office Road Safety Research Programme 1989-97: 1997 Price 2.50
For each research project described or listed below copies of the Research Findings (a short paper which sets out the main findings), can be obtained, free on request, from:
The Scottish Executive
Social Research
Area 1F (Dockside)
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131-244 7560
The following reports were published between October 2001 and September 2002:
- Evaluation of the West Lothian Driver Improvement SchemePrice 5.00
- Road Safety and Social InclusionPrice 5.00
- Why do Parents Drive their Children to School?Price 5.00
- Management of Work-related Road SafetyPrice 5.00
- Child Accidents en route to and from SchoolPrice 5.00
Key Findings of Research Reports published since October 2002:
Evaluation of Drug Driving TV Advert
The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign commissioned NFO Social Research to carry out an evaluation of a recent TV advert aimed at discouraging people from driving under the influence of drugs ('drug driving'). The research consisted of a series of questions in the Scottish Opinion Survey (SOS), a series of qualitative interviews with 17-24 year old drivers and a quota survey of a sample of current Scottish drivers.
Key Findings:
- Awareness of advertising and publicity on drugs and driving was high
- Understanding of the key messages of the advert was generally good
- There was, however, some evidence that the overall impact of the advert was undermined by doubts about the credibility of the enforcement message.
- The qualitative research suggested that some aspects of the style and content of the advert may also have limited the impact on younger drivers.
- Most participants found the first half of the advert amusing, but there was some debate amongst respondents over whether the second half had as much impact on viewers.
2003 Price 5.00
Evaluation of Bikesafe Scotland
The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign commissioned NFO Social Research to evaluate Bikesafe Scotland (a multi-agency initiative aimed at reducing the number and severity of crashes involving motorcyclists in Scotland). The research involved a before-and-after survey of motorcyclists who took part in the Bikesafe Scotland Assessed Ride programme, a survey of people who took part in Bikesafe in 2001, a desk-based analysis of trends in motorcycle accidents in Scotland and a series of in-depth telephone interviews with representatives from the organisations involved in running Bikesafe Scotland and with stakeholders from the motorcycle industry.
Key findings:
- The number of motorcyclists killed or injured on Scotland's roads fell in the early 1990s but has increased again since 1997. Older motorcyclists, aged over 30, account for an increasing proportion of casualties.
- Approximately 1,769 assessed rides have been carried out in the three years since the launch of Bikesafe Scotland in 2000. The scheme does seem to be successful in attracting 'vulnerable' groups of motorcyclists, such as those aged over 30 years and riders who passed their test through the Direct Access scheme.
- The research shows that participants find the Bikesafe Assessed Ride programme useful, and that participating has a beneficial impact in terms of improving participants' control and encouraging them to ride defensively.
- There was evidence to suggest that some participants may be riding faster in some situations after taking part in Bikesafe. It may be that some participants are engaging in 'risk compensation' - they feel that they have become better riders, and are therefore better equipped to ride at speed.
- It was suggested that Bikesafe might be improved by focusing on attitudes to riding, and by further promotion of the advanced training message by Bikesafe organisers.
2003 Price 5.00
Evaluation of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland: New Nursery & Playgroup Pack
The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign commissioned ODS Ltd. to carry out an evaluation of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS) revised Nursery and Playgroup Pack launched in November 2001. The aim of the evaluation was to assess the use and impact of the educational resource pack and any effect it might have in raising awareness of the CTCS
Key findings:
- The Pack has had a significant effect in raising or reinforcing awareness of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland among nursery staff, children and with parents, though its actual effects on Club membership are unknown.
- The Pack format and content are well regarded, considered attractive and useful.
- Nurseries have integrated the Pack into a wide range of road safety activities and used it to complement and reinforce them.
- Use of the Pack seemed to be influenced by the extent to which nursery staff had been briefed or trained in its use and familiarised, even briefly, with its contents.
- Generally, individual nurseries determined the format and approaches to road safety education and there was relatively little intervention on the part of pre 5s advisers in this area of activity.
- Examples of Good Practice included: training and briefing nurseries on the use of the Pack, linking the use of the Pack to road safety events, integrating use of the Pack within wider personal safety education, and raising parental awareness.
2003 Price 5.00
The Speeding Driver: Who, Why and How?
The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign commissioned research to follow up previous studies in 1991, 1994 and 1996 on the causes and consequences of speeding. The study consisted of: a review of national and international literature; focus groups with different types of speeding driver; interviews with crash-involved drivers; a review of recent anti-speeding campaigns and initiatives in Scotland; an analysis of a sample of police records of speeding offences; and an extensive household survey of over 1,000 Scottish car drivers.
Key findings
- Over the last decade the proportion of Scottish drivers speeding in built up areas has decreased, while the proportion of respondents speeding in 70 mph zones has increased
- Scottish drivers attitudes to speed limits have remained largely unchanged. However there is significant support for engineering measures to reduce speed in residential areas
- The proportion of Scottish motorists who had seen speed cameras rose from 54% to 96%, with public support for camera enforcement falling slightly
- Most speeding offences occurred on built up roads, offending levels were highest during the weekday inter-peak period
- Young males were most likely to offend and be the subject of Police reports for excessive speed
- Comparison with the 1996 study suggested that the percentage of non-manual occupation drivers caught speeding has almost halved, while the percentage of manual unskilled and unemployed drivers caught speeding has increased.
- For male drivers, the more likely they were to speed on different types of road, the more likely they were to have recently been involved in a crash whilst driving.
2003 Price 5.00
External-to-Vehicle Driver Distraction
The Scottish Executive commissioned a literature review on driver distraction to explore in more depth whether external driver distraction is a significant factor in road accidents and to examine existing knowledge and gaps on the relevant external factors that cause vehicle accidents, with a view to identifying where further research might be carried out.
Key findings
- Information from accident databases suggests that external-to-vehicle driver distraction is a major contributory factor to road accidents. However it is likely that these incidents are under-reported. The real risks may therefore be greater than official statistics suggest.
- The evidence suggests that there are two specific situations where the risk factor of billboards and signs is at its highest: at junctions, and on long monotonous roads (such as motorways).
- There is overwhelming evidence that advertisements and signs placed near junctions can function as distractors, and that this constitutes a major threat to road safety. It is also likely that drivers can become distracted by lights or billboards on long 'boring' stretches of road.
- Overall the literature review found that advertising/billboards can function as distractors in specific situations. However, more research is needed to discover in what particular situations they pose most of a threat, and the precise extent of the risk.
2003 Price 5.00
Changing Speeding Behaviour in Scotland: An Evaluation of 'FOOLSSPEED' Campaign
The Scottish Executive and the DTLR commissioned an evaluation of the Foolsspeed advertising campaign (designed to reduce urban speeding in Scotland) to assess how well it communicated with drivers in Scotland and its impact on the psychological factors which encourage drivers to speed.
Key findings
- The Foolsspeed advertising campaign elements - logo, name and three 40-second television ads - generated high levels of spontaneous and prompted awareness.
- All three ads were liked, felt to be easy to understand and not to 'talk down to' the audience.
- Respondents who were frequent speeders were more likely than infrequent speeders to indicate that the ads made them 'feel bad' about how they drove.
- Attitudes towards speeding and affective beliefs - feelings about the emotional benefits associated with speeding - became significantly more negative, or anti-speeding, over the course of the campaign.
- Overall, the findings indicate that it is possible to create memorable and engaging road safety advertising without a fear-arousing approach. Furthermore, the campaign appears to have been effective in changing attitudes regarding speeding.
2003 Price 5.00
Seatbelt Wearing in Scotland: A Second Study in Compliance
The Scottish Executive commissioned The Halcrow Group Ltd to undertake research to establish the current rate of compliance with seatbelt wearing legislation, and whether there has been any significant change since 1997, updating the first study of compliance carried out in 1997. The research measured the rate of seat belt wearing by drivers of cars, vans and taxis, and front and rear seat passengers (including children) in Scotland.
Key findings
- 88.6% of all vehicle occupants were observed to be wearing an appropriate restraint, a 2.2% increase since 1997.
- Light van and taxi occupants had a substantially lower compliance rates than car occupiers.
- 95% of car drivers, 91% of front seat passengers and 78% of rear seat passengers were appropriately restrained.
- There continues to be a correspondence between the behaviour of car drivers and passengers, with a greater likelihood of passenger compliance where the driver also used a seat belt.
- Overall, little change in seat belt use was recorded. However, rear seat restraint use rose from 71% to 78%, and there was a decline in restraint usage for children under 5 years.
- 1% of drivers were observed to be using hand-held mobile telephone equipment.
2003 Price 5.00
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