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ROAD ACCIDENTS SCOTLAND 2000

REPORTS OF THE RESULTS OF THE ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH PROJECTS WHICH WERE COMMISSIONED BY THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

The Scottish Executive Central Research Unit publishes a series of reports and research summaries based on road safety research which has been commissioned by the Department. Those published since the start of 2001 are described briefly below. 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.

For each research project described or listed below (with the exception of "Review of the Scottish Office Road Safety Research Programme 1989-97") copies of the Research Findings (a short paper which sets out the main findings), can be obtained, free on request, from:

The Scottish Executive Central Research Unit

Area 2J

Victoria Quay

Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

Tel: 0131-244 7560

Information about the reports published between January 1989 and August 1997 is given in:

The following reports were published between 1999 and the end of 2000:

"Road Accidents Scotland 1999" includes a brief description of most of these reports.

Research Reports published since the start of 2001:

"20mph Speed Reduction Initiative"

In 1997 the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) invited Scottish local authorities to participate in a national trial programme of advisory 20mph speed limits in residential areas. A total of 75 individual sites were accepted for inclusion in the trial. The operation and outcome of the trial was monitored and evaluated over a 3 year period. The study found a reduction in average speed at 60% of the sites following implementation of the initiative; in general the initiative was more effective at reducing speed at sites where the 'before' speeds were in the higher range; the overall average speed reduction was modest, from 23.4mph before the schemes were introduced to 22.2mph after; the proportion of traffic travelling faster than 20mph fell from 68% before the schemes were introduced to 62% after and at 46% of the sites the average speed is now below 20mph compared to 32% of sites in the before sample; there was a considerable drop in the number of recorded accidents per year after the introduction of the scheme and a significant reduction in severity, with serious or fatal accidents reduced from 20% to 14% of the total. Results from the attitudinal survey demonstrated strong local support for the scheme. Residents believed that there had been a noticeable reduction in speed initially, but that speeds had gradually increased over time, and it was felt that whilst resident drivers had reduced their speed, visitors had not. A cost benefit analysis setting the costs of the scheme against the savings in accident reduction showed a strong positive rate of return.

2001 Price £10.00

1. "Recreational Drugs and Driving"

Research was commissioned to establish the prevalence of driving under the influence of illegal recreational drugs in Scotland and to explore the social context in which it takes place in order to inform the Scottish Road Safety Campaign on appropriate publicity initiatives in the future. The research comprised two separate studies, a survey of over 1000 individual drivers aged 17-39 in Scotland, and a qualitative study involving attendees at nightclubs and dance events in Scotland. The prevalence survey found that just under a tenth (9%) of all respondents reported ever having driven under the influence of illegal drugs and 5% had done so in the past year. Cannabis was the most common drug to have been used, reflecting its dominance in drug taking generally; men were significantly more likely than women to have driven under the influence of drugs; and drug driving would appear to be most prevalent among the 20-24 year old age group with much lower levels in older age groups. The qualitative study found that driving after recreational drug use was widespread amongst individuals attending dance/nightclubs in Scotland; cannabis was the drug most widely implicated in drug driving but driving after other drugs was also commonplace; many dance/nightclub attendees believed that cannabis had little or no impact on driving skills, whilst it was considered by all that driving after LSD was extremely dangerous; many individuals had accepted a lift in a car driven by someone they knew had been using illegal drugs; and knowledge of the legal position regarding drug driving was very poor.

2001 Price £5.00

2. "Sharing Road Space: Drivers and Cyclists as Equal Road Users"

The aims of this research were to explore the attitudes of drivers and cyclists towards sharing road space and to identify areas where conflict may occur; and to establish the barriers to viewing others as equal road users and make recommendations to overcome these. The research was qualitative and involved in depth interviews and focus groups with different types of road users in two urban areas in Scotland. The research found that although cyclists are thought to be very vulnerable road users, they are not considered by drivers to deserve priority on the road. Drivers who also cycle however show greater tolerance towards cyclists. Drivers are supportive of cycle use in bus lanes, but less so of other aspects of cycling provision such as special cycle lanes, advance stop lines and filter lanes. Drivers felt that the costs of special provision for cyclists were too high in relation to their needs. Only those respondents who are ‘professional’ drivers had been made aware to any extent of changes in road provision to accommodate cyclists, and the research concluded that there was a need for fresh education and/or information campaigns. Respondents acknowledged the need for a change in attitudes to help foster more positive road sharing habits. They conceded that growth in cycling would be limited without greater acceptance of cyclists by other road users.

2001 Price £5.00

2.1.1 "Tourist Road Accidents in Rural Scotland"

The aim of this research was to investigate whether visitors to rural tourist areas in Scotland are subject to a higher involvement in road accidents compared with local drivers. Statistical road accident data for Scotland was examined for the years 1999 and 2000 and detailed case studies of accidents in three rural tourist areas — Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute and Highland — were carried out to set tourist accidents in these areas within the overall Scottish context. The study found that tourist activity does significantly boost road accident numbers in rural tourist areas of Scotland and visitor drivers, including foreign drivers, are involved in a measurably greater number of accidents in the case study areas. Half of the drivers involved in accidents in Scotland as a whole were within 5km of their home address and fewer than 2% were more than 240km from it; however, in the police areas of Grampian and Northern, fewer of the accidents involved drivers who were close to their homes. The involvement of tourists compared with locals in road accidents is probably not excessive in relation to their numbers and the increased mileage they probably drive; the exposure data for foreign drivers is not adequate to establish whether they are at greater risk of an accident than local drivers. The majority of accidents caused by foreign drivers arose from the drivers’ unfamiliarity with driving on the left hand side of the road; the accidents caused by UK visitor drivers may reflect their lack of driving and overtaking experience on rural single carriageway roads as the accidents in whey they were at fault involved losing control, negotiation of bends and collision with pedestrians or animals; local drivers who had caused an accident were most likely to have lost control or to have been driving too fast.

2001 Price £5.00

2.1.2 "The New Driver Project"

Little is known about how pre-driver training courses may affect subsequent driving behaviour. In 1997 the Scottish Road Safety Campaign initiated a research programme aimed at assessing the effectiveness of two classroom-based driver intervention programmes — one held pre-driving test and one held post-driving test — in changing driving beliefs, attitudes and self-reported driving behaviour in comparison to a standard process of learning to drive. The research found that as new drivers start learning to drive, their attitudes, beliefs and intentions towards driving already appear to be formed. New male learner drivers in the study were less likely than females to abide by the legal and social conventions of driving regarding speeding; they also reported that they were less likely than females to be concerned about what their parents, close friends, or friends of the opposite sex thought about their driving. The results of the research indicated that subjects who attended classroom-based pre-driver training did not score significantly higher on driving knowledge than those who undertook the standard process of learning to drive. A series of driving related scenarios investigating self-expectant driving choices, showed no differences between those who had received the classroom-based pre-driver training and those who had not. Differences were found on a measure of driving safety motives and of perceived driving skill, between those who attended classroom-based post-test driver training (3 months after the test) and those who did not. However, at nine months post test, no overall differences were found in attitudes towards driving violations between those who had attended the classroom based pre-driving test, those who attended the post-driving test and those who had acquired their driving licence in the normal way. This indicated that the intervention effect found at three-months post-test had decayed some 6 months later.

2001 Price £5.00

Scottish Executive Transport Statistics publications

Scottish Transport Statistics contains chapters on Road transport vehicles, Bus and coach travel, Road freight, Toll bridges, Road network, Road traffic, Injury road accidents, Rail services, Air transport, Water transport, Finance and Personal and cross-modal travel. Each chapter consists of groups of tables on that topic, together with some comments on points shown in the tables, and some notes on the definitions and sources of the statistics. Also includes a summary of trends in Scottish transport over the past ten years, comparisons of some key statistics with figures for Great Britain, and some longer-term historical series.

Latest edition: provides figures up to 2000 (in most cases), was published in August 2001

Published Annually Price: £ 10.00 ISBN 0-7559-1001-X

Bus and Coach Statistics provides information about the trends in bus and coach services in Scotland, including distances travelled by vehicles, numbers of bus passenger journeys, fare indices, passenger receipts, public transport support, operating costs, vehicle stock and staffing.

Latest edition: provides figures up to 1999-2000, was published in March 2001

Published Annually Price: £ 2.00 ISBN 0-7559-2016-3

Household Transport: some Scottish Household Survey results provides information about the transport facilities available to private households, and about some travel by household members. Topics covered include: the accessibility and frequency of bus services; the availability of cars for private use; the types of motor vehicle that are available; people's possession of driving licences and frequency of driving; reasons for driving, for not driving and for not using buses more often; people's frequency of walking and cycling; travel to work; travel to school; adults with limited mobility and adults with Orange Badges.

Latest (and only) edition: provides figures for 1999, was published in January 2001

Published Annually Price: £ 2.00 ISBN 1 84268 780 8

Travel by Scottish residents: some National Travel Survey results provides information about trends in the average number of journeys and average distance travelled per person per year, and the average length of journey, by mode of travel and by the purpose of the journey. It also provides information about travel patterns by age-group, by sex, by socio-economic group, by working status, by household income quintile and by whether or not the household has a car.

Latest (and only) edition: provides figures up to 1995/97, was published in March 1999

Published Occasionally Price: £ 2.00 ISBN 0-7480-8102-X

Road Accidents Scotland contains a commentary which summarises the key statistics and identifies the most interesting and significant points. This is followed by groups of tables on Accidents, Accident costs, Vehicles involved, Car drivers, Drivers breath tested, Drink-drive accidents and casualties, and Casualties. There are notes on the definitions and sources of the statistics.

Latest edition: provides figures up to 2000, was published in November 2001

Published Annually Price: £ 10.00 ISBN not yet assigned

Key Road Accidents Statistics gives the number of accidents, casualties by severity, casualties by type of road, casualties by mode of transport, and child casualties, including trends in recent years.

Latest edition: provides figures up to 2000, was published in June 2001

Published Annually Price: £ 2.00 ISBN 0 7559 3191 2

Copies of the above publications may be purchased from:
The Stationery Office Bookshop
71 Lothian Road EDINBURGH EH3 9AZ
Tel: (0131) 228 4181 FAX: (0131) 622 7017
Cheques (made payable to "The Stationery Office Limited") should be submitted with orders.

Transport Statistics publications may be found on the Scottish Executive Website: Go to http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/land.htm

and click on the bar, in the middle of the screen, labelled "Transport, Travel and Tourism".

Enquiries for more information on Transport Statistics should be addressed to:
Alastair Douglas Transport Statistics branch
Scottish Executive Victoria Quay EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131 244 7255 FAX: 0131 244 0888 E-mail: transtat@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

 

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