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| Road Accidents Scotland 1997 |
| Reports Of The Results Of The Road Safety Research Projects Which Were Commissioned By The Scottish Office |
| The Scottish Office Central Research Unit publishes a series of reports and research summaries based on road safety research which has been commissioned by the Department. |
| Research
Reports which have been published recently are detailed
below. In addition, information about all the Scottish
Office-commissioned road safety research reports which
were published between January 1989 and August 1997, and
about the research that was ongoing in August 1997, is
given in the "Review of the Scottish Office Road
Safety Research Programme 1989-97" (see below). Reports
may be purchased from: The Stationery Office Bookshop Tel: 0131 228 4181 Cheques (made payable to "The Stationery Office") should be submitted with orders. |
| For
each research project listed below (with the exception of
the "Review of the Scottish Office Road Safety
Research Program 1989-97"), copies of the Research
Findings (a short paper which sets out the main
findings of the research project), can be obtained, free
on request, from: The
Scottish Office Central Research Unit Tel: 0131-244 7560 |
| "Review of The Scottish Office Road Safety Research Programme 1989-97" |
| This
review describes and evaluates the contribution which
road safety research has made to the work of The Scottish
Office Development Department and the Scottish Road
Safety Campaign. It provides a summary of research
project details, including aims, findings, methodology
and costs. It provides a reference source for road safety
practitioners and policy-makers on the body of road
safety research carried out under the Development
Department's research programme. 1997 price £ 2.50 |
| "Evaluation of the Young Driver Cinema Advert" |
| The
aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of a
'shocking' cinema advert aimed at young people. The
evaluation found that the message had reached the target
audience, and that it prompted many to think about their
own driving behaviour. 1996 price £ 5 |
| Linking Road Traffic Accident Statistics to Census Data in Lothian" |
| This
study investigated whether there is a relationship
between casualty rates and neighbourhood lived in. It
found that total casualty rates are higher in areas which
have a high proportion of rented dwellings, a low
percentage of car ownership and a high proportion of lone
parent households. The rate for pedestrian casualties was
significantly higher in areas with a high density of
population and in areas with the highest percentage of
residents from Social Class V. 1996 price £ 5 |
| "The Deterrent Effects of Enforcement in Road Safety" |
| This
research examined the deterrent effects of enforcement in
comparison to other influences in individual drivers'
behaviour in respect of a range of driving offences. It
found that enforcement has a different deterrent effect
according to the type of offence; for drink and dangerous
driving it has a strong effect, but for speeding the
effect is very limited. The research showed that drivers
regard speeding as having very little associated risk,
either in terms of getting caught or being involved in an
accident. 1997 price £ 5 |
| "Impact of the Road Network on Scotland's Accident Rates" |
| This
statistical analysis using a digitised dataset of
accidents, traffic flow counts and network variables
explored the hypothesis that Scotland's higher severity
rate is caused by variations in the distribution of
network characteristics between Scotland and
England/Wales. It found that 60% of the severity
difference in non-built up areas between the countries is
accounted for in terms of traffic flow, proximity to
junctions and road type. Non-network factors such as
differences in weather and light conditions and response
time of emergency vehicles may explain part of the
residual 40% difference. 1997 price £ 7.50 |
| "The Effectiveness of Leaflets in Road Safety" |
| The
research examined the effectiveness of leaflets as a
means of disseminating information on road safety and the
role played compared to other road safety campaigns
media. Two very different types of leaflet were examined
- one aimed at parents of nursery/primary-aged children,
the other at drivers and road users in general. The study
found that there was a high level of awareness of the
children's leaflets and that two-thirds of those who had
seen the leaflets said they had been prompted to speak to
their child about road safety as a direct result.
Moreover, 85% of those who had seen the leaflet had kept
it, suggesting that they saw it as a useful resource. The
leaflets aimed at drivers and general road users were
much less well-received and there was confusion as to who
they were aimed at and criticism of the style and
presentation. The effectiveness of these leaflets was
however undermined by the postal method of distribution,
which risked association with 'junk mail'. 1998 price £5.00 |
| "Seat Belt Wearing in Scotland - A Study on Compliance" |
| This
study was commissioned to obtain a reliable measure of
the extent of seat belt wearing in Scotland by car, taxi
and light van occupants. The study found that 86% of
vehicle occupants used an appropriate restraint - 91% for
cars, 50% for vans and 26% for taxis. There were
differences between car occupants' use of restraint
according to seating position, with 94% of drivers, 92%
of adult front seat passengers and 55% of adult rear seat
passengers using seat belts. In addition to rear seat
passengers, front seat male passengers aged between 14
and 59 and male drivers in the 17 to 29 age range had
relatively low compliance rates. The rate for children
aged between 5 and 13 years who were restrained in the
rear seat of cars was 74%. 1998 price £5.00 |
| "Alcohol and the Pedestrian Road Casualty" |
| This
study was commissioned to investigate the relationship
between pedestrian casualties and alcohol consumption in
Scotland. The study involved the collection of data by
hospital staff on all road accident casualties attending
Accident & Emergency Depts in 5 large Scottish
hospitals. The study found that of all road traffic
casualties, 9% had evidence of alcohol consumption. This
rises markedly amongst pedestrians where nearly a third
(31%) of all pedestrian casualties had consumed alcohol,
the majority of whom were male (87%). Findings showed
that pedestrians in the 40-49 age group show an increased
risk of being involved in an accident if alcohol is
involved, and pedestrians who had been drinking were more
than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital than
those who had not been drinking. 1998 Price £5.00 |
| "The Older Child Pedestrian Casualty" |
| This
study was commissioned to explore the patterns of
casualties amongst older child pedestrians in Scotland in
particular, with a view to informing road safety
campaigns. A detailed examination of STATS 19 data for
1994-96 found that the pedestrian casualty rate for boys
is consistently higher than for girls across all age
groups; as girls get older they account for an increasing
share of accidents; the school journey is a significant
factor affecting the child casualty rate, with the
proportion having an accident on the school journey
rising from 24% for the younger age group to 38% for the
older age group. Child pedestrian casualties peak between
3 and 4pm and child accidents drop during July in the
school holidays. The transition from primary to secondary
school when distances travelled to school increase
appears to be a vulnerable time. 1998 Price £5.00 |
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