The Scottish Government

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Scottish Executive Road Safety Research Publications

The Scottish Executive publishes a series of reports and research summaries based on road safety research. These and further information about social research in the Scottish Executive may be accessed on the Internet at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch Some reports may be purchased from Blackwell's Bookshop - contact details appear towards the foot of the page on Scottish Executive Transport Statistics publications.

The Road Safety reports described below were published between January and September 2006.

For those projects highlighted with an asterix (*), copies of the Research Findings (a short paper which sets out the main findings) can be obtained, free on request, from:

Email: socialresearch@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Illicit Drugs and Driving (Web only publication)
July 2006

The Scottish Executive and Road Safety Scotland commissioned a team comprising MORI Scotland, the Centre for Drugs Misuse Research at Glasgow University and Napier University's Transport Research Institute to conduct research to investigate the prevalence and social context of drug driving. The research consisted of a survey of 1,031 17-39 year old drivers and qualitative interviews with problem drug users, recreational drug users and people who had been passengers of drug-drivers. The research suggests that there has been no significant change in drug driving between the prevalence recorded in 2000 and that recorded in 2005, however, it is likely that the figures reflect a degree of under-reporting from respondents. Two main explanations for drug driving emerged: convenience and lack of deterrents. Most drug drivers do not believe that drugs have an adverse effect on their driving and most drivers do not think there is a significant risk of being caught by the police. In addition, if they are stopped by police, the overwhelming opinion is that there are not effective enough tests for detecting whether someone has been taking drugs or not.

Development of a Primary School Road Safety Charter for Scotland (Web only publication)
July 2006

The Scottish Executive commissioned Carole Millar Research to investigate the feasibility of developing a national Road Safety Charter, with the aims of: identifying the successful components of existing charter schemes; exploring the feasibility of developing a Road Safety Charter for primary schools and to provide guidance on its development. The research found that there was strong support for the concept of a Road Safety Charter for Scotland, the benefits of which included providing a clear framework for road safety tasks, improving co-ordination of road safety education and raising the profile of road safety education. Some potential barriers to implementing the charter centred around the time the initiative would take and whether teachers would be given sufficient support.

Increasing Membership of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland (Web only publication)
July 2006

The Scottish Executive appointed ODS to investigate how membership of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland ( CTCS) could successfully be promoted in areas of high social deprivation. The study was commissioned due to recognition that CTCS membership levels were significantly lower in areas of high social deprivation than in other parts of the country - and that children living in deprived areas were more likely to be involved in a road accidents. The study provided a series of recommendations about how uptake of the CTCS could be increased in areas of high social deprivation. It focused on the potential for developing joint working arrangements with other agencies and organisations as a mechanism for raising awareness of and increasing membership of the CTCS.

Streetsense Evaluation (Web only publication)
July 2006

The Scottish Executive commissioned Carole Millar Research to undertake an evaluation of Streetsense, a road safety education resource. The study aimed to identify how effectively the Streetsense resource has been distributed; exploring whether primary schools currently use the Streetsense resource and how it is used. It also aimed to identify ways in which Streetsense could be sustained and developed. The research confirmed that Streetsense is seen as a highly successful road safety education resource used by both teachers and Road Safety Officers. The report recommended that further efforts should now be made to promote the resource on an ongoing basis to increase levels of awareness amongst practitioners.

Risk and Motorcyclists in Scotland*
June 2006

TRL, in collaboration with TRi, Napier University, was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to undertake research into the risk of motorcyclists in Scotland in order to inform future Road Safety Scotland campaigns. This research used an interview survey and a self-completion questionnaire survey to support a quantitative analysis on the acceptance and understanding of risk by motorcycle riders in Scotland. The research suggested that road safety campaigns based on using risk as the lever of influence may not be very effective in reducing motorcycle accidents and offered advice on elements for a more widely based campaign strategy.

Peer Road Safety Education in Scottish Secondary Schools (Web only publication)
June 2006

The Scottish Executive commissioned East House Research to undertake research to explore the feasibility of using peer education in road safety education ( RSE) in secondary schools in Scotland. A range of methodologies was used comprising of structured interviews (with road safety personnel, teachers, pupils, peer education specialists and other education personnel), case studies in four schools and a literature review. The study identified a range of pre-requisites of successful peer education programmes. It also found that educators were the main beneficiaries of such programmes and were seen to increase in knowledge and confidence as a result of taking part. Benefits to the target group of pupils were harder to quantify and there has been no research to date that has indicated that peer education is more effective than traditional educational methods at informing this target group of pupils.

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