Introduction
In the last decade there has been an overall downward trend in the number of people killed in road traffic collisions on Scotland's roads. Despite some increases in 2016, 2019 and 2022, overall, there have been positive changes towards a reduction in fatal casualties. Unfortunately, 2024 saw a notable rise in fatalities and it is imperative that Police Scotland and partners work together to address this and reverse this trend.
Scotland’s Road Safety Framework 2030 (RSF2030) has a vision to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and a compelling long-term goal for road safety where there are no deaths or serious injuries on Scotland’s roads by 2050. These outcomes align with the five pillars of the Safe System: Safe Road Use; Safe Vehicles; Safe Speeds; Safe Roads and Roadsides; Post-crash Response.
All road users are exposed to a variety of risks. The alignment of one or more risks can result in a collision. It is important, therefore, to understand the nature of collision causation, as it may be any combination of factors that result in a collision and any combination of factors that result in a fatality. A positive change in road users’ behaviour can reduce the severity of the collision or prevent it from happening entirely.
Working in partnership to achieve the RSF2030 vision, Police Scotland and Transport Scotland instigated road fatality research and in-depth analysis of all factors relating to road traffic fatalities on Scotland’s road network. The findings of the ‘In depth road traffic fatalities report for the years 2015-2020’ were published on 25th October 2023.
Recommendation 73 within the report states that:
“Further in-depth analysis should be undertaken on the currently available data set to identify trends and subsequent recommendations for pedestrians, motorcyclists, pedal cyclists and child fatalities.”
A notable shift in the number of people cycling on Scotland’s roads has been highlighted in the media in recent years. It is assessed this is likely due to an increased consciousness of the benefits to “help improve fitness, and it being a sustainable and cost-effective mode of transport”. Many now opt to cycle for their commute to work and school, as well as leisure. This is corroborated by Cycling Scotland, whose ‘recent analysis of national cycle counter data shows 24 locations across Scotland recording increases of above 30% in cycle journeys in June 2024, compared with June 2023’.
This report will focus on all collisions resulting in pedal cyclist injury during the reporting period 1 January 2020 to 29 November 2024.
This report focusses on the locations of fatal, serious and slight collisions that have involved pedal cyclists, and has been produced to better understand the scale, nature and causations, and to identify any countermeasures or recommendations to mitigate risk on the road for pedal cyclists.
To align with the available data for fatal, serious and slight collisions, spatial analysis has been conducted using the geographical boundaries of Police Scotland’s divisions, as shown below:
North
Division Code A
- Aberdeen City
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Division Code D
- Dundee City
- Perth and Kinross
- Angus
Division Code N
- Highland
- Eilean Siar
- Orkney Islands
- Shetland Islands
East
Division Code C
- Stirling
- Clackmannanshire
- Falkirk
Division Code E
- City of Edinburgh
Division Code J
- East Lothian
- Midlothian
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
Division Code P
- Fife
West
Division Code G
- Glasgow City
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
Division Code U
- East Ayrshire
- North Ayrshire
- South Ayrshire
Division Code Q
- North Lanarkshire
- South Lanarkshire
Division Code L
- Argyll and Bute
- West Dunbartonshire
Division Code K
- Inverclyde
- Renfrewshire
Division Code V
- Dumfries and Galloway
