Views on road safety

'Worrying attitudes towards road safety' among some young people have been revealed in new Scottish Government reports.

The latest research, commissioned to help inform the development of a new Road Safety Strategy for Scotland, explored the views of young people aged 16 to 25. A further study was also undertaken on rural road safety.

The research revealed:

• Driving at speed was seen to be a source of enjoyment by some young drivers
• Some young drivers are prepared to take risks with speed on rural roads, testing their driving skills in an environment where there is seen to be lower risk due to fewer vehicles and pedestrians
• Young people were unsure about the legal limit for drinking and driving. Many had examples of travelling in a car with a driver who had been drinking, or of friends driving while over the limit
• Young people rarely thought that an accident would ever happen to them

Young people put themselves at risk through inappropriate levels of trust in friends as drivers
Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said:

"Our concern is to ensure the safety of all road users but today's reports find that some young drivers are still prepared to take risks with their own lives, and the lives of others.

"Road accidents are at their lowest level for more than 50 years. However, young drivers continue to be over-represented in road deaths and we cannot and will not be complacent.

"There appears to be a prevalent attitude among some young people in these reports that serious accident and injury is something that happens to someone else, something that happens to other people.

"Sadly, the statistics tell us that it can and often does happen to you.

"You only need to listen to the harrowing experiences of our emergency services or the families of those affected to see that tragedy can strike at any place and at any time.

"Driving at excessive speed is dangerous, it is reckless and if young drivers think that rural roads are safe places to take risks they only need to look at the statistics. The most common factor contributing to rural road accidents is loss of control and driving at an inappropriate speed. It can result in the most tragic of consequences no matter what your level of ability or experience.

"My message to young people is simple - listen to the road safety messages from the police, fire services, road safety organisations and others. It could save your life.

"We are currently working with leading experts on road safety to develop a new 10 year road safety strategy for Scotland. Today's research was commissioned to help inform our new strategy and we will be looking at what more we can all do to improve road safety across the country. We will publish our new strategy in the New Year."

'Qualitative Research with Young People: Road Safety' was undertaken in 2008 to help inform the development of the new Scottish Road Safety Strategy.

'Rural Road Safety: Drivers and Driving' was undertaken in 2007 to investigate the causes of rural road accidents and to gain insights which could be used to tackle the problem.

The Scottish Government wished to ensure that the views of young people were taken into account in developing the new Road Safety Strategy.

The research included analysis of police accident reports (STATS 19), a face-to-face survey of over 1000 current car drivers on rural roads, and focus groups with young drivers and non-drivers, including younger males who drive on rural roads.

Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill has already written to the UK Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly asking her to reduce the drink driving limit from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood and introduce random breath testing to further crack down on drink driving.