Today (28th February 2023) sees Transport Scotland hosting a summit that will see key road safety partners coming together to discuss how to tackle the rise in road casualties and injuries.
Representatives from across the Scottish public sector, including Police Scotland, Road Safety Scotland, and local authorities, are coming together to identify new ways that Transport Scotland can achieve its ambitious target of Scotland becoming the best-performing nation on road safety by 2030.
The rise in road casualties and injuries has appeared following the Covid-19 pandemic, with 5,621 casualties being reported in 2022. 173 of these involved death, whilst 1,776 people were seriously injured on the roads.
Speaking about the work being done to reduce the number of incidents on Scottish roads, Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop commented:
“We must never lose sight of the fact that one death on our roads is one too many. My thoughts are with the families and friends who have tragically lost a loved one, and those whose lives are changed forever. A post-pandemic rise in casualties was anticipated as more road users got back on the road after lockdowns, but we cannot get away from the fact that the rise that we saw in 2022 was alarming.
“This Road Safety Summit is bringing partners together to look at how we can work collectively to tackle this rise and help reach our ambitious road safety targets. The contribution made by the people and organisations represented at this Summit is greatly valued and we need to ensure everyone continues to play their part in creating a safer Scotland.
“I want to be clear that road safety remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government and I am determined that we continue to make investments which support our Road Safety Framework to 2030. That is why we have earmarked a record £36m for road safety in the next Scottish Budget.
“I am resolute in my determination to save lives and meet the long-term vision set out in the Framework, where no one is killed or seriously injured on Scotland’s roads by 2050.”
Road safety investment from the Scottish Government across the 2022/2023 financial year amounted to £31 million, with £9.5 million being granted to local authorities through the Road Safety Improvement Fund. That fund works to support the delivery of targeted safe system initiatives. Road Safety Scotland has been allocated £3.8 million to carry out education and publicity projects, whilst £12 million will go towards road safety measures on Scotland’s Trunk Road Network. The remaining £7.8 million went towards evidence-led enforcement through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme.
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