Executive summary

Between 1 January 2015 and 31 March 2024, there were 1,348 fatal collisions recorded on Scotland’s roads, which resulted in the deaths of 1,445 people (352 of which were pedestrians, which equates to 24%). This highlights the vulnerability of pedestrians on Scottish roads.

351 of the collisions involved at least one pedestrian fatality. On one occasion more than one pedestrian was killed, therefore throughout this period 352 pedestrians have been fatally injured. On average, there were 37 fatal pedestrian fatalities per calendar year. There were higher numbers during 2015 and 2019 – and of note, another spike in recent years, with an increase of 11 fatalities between 2022 and 2023. In addition, it is likely that pedestrian fatalities during 2024 are also likely to be higher than 2022, as displayed within Overview 1.

Please note, the calendar year 2024 has not been included in the average calculation as data is only available between 1 January 2024 – 31 March 2024.

There were 352 pedestrian fatalities recorded during the reporting period, whereby the majority of pedestrians were male (66%). The majority of fatalities were adults, the largest proportion of which were over the age of 75, followed by the 56-65 and 36-45 age groups.

There were 390 vehicles involved in the fatal pedestrian collisions. The majority of the collisions only involved one vehicle (n=317): the majority of which were cars, followed by goods vehicles 7.5 tonnes and over, and goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.

The highest number of fatal collisions occurred within the west of Scotland when considering Police Scotland Command Areas; however, when broken down to local authority areas, the highest were recorded within Glasgow City (n=60), followed by Fife (n=28) and City of Edinburgh (n=28). The highest proportion of fatal collisions occurred on ‘A’ Class roads, and of note, higher numbers occurred on the A82, A96 and M8. Of note, over half of the pedestrian collisions occurred on a road with a 30mph speed limit.

Collisions most commonly occurred during the winter months (the highest recorded during January); and most commonly recorded between 1900 hours and 2059 hours, with a higher number of collisions noted during early morning and early afternoon too. A strong seasonal pattern can be observed as fatal collisions decrease during the spring and summer months.

Most commonly collisions occurred when pedestrians were crossing the road (57%). However, there were incidences where pedestrians were in the roadway, lying in the road, walking on a footpath or walking with traffic. Of note, 21% of the ‘pedestrian – crossing road’ collision types were recorded within Glasgow City.

There were 190 collisions where it was deemed the pedestrian had some responsibility for the collision, with the over 75 age group (19%) and 36-45 (18%) age groups being the most represented.

A review of the contributory factors relating to collisions, focused on pedestrians and vehicles involved separately. There were 1,126 contributory factors assigned to pedestrians, all of which are ‘people’ related. The five most commonly recorded were:

• ‘Failed to look properly’
• ‘Failed to judge vehicle’s path/speed
• ‘Careless, reckless or in a hurry’
• ‘Pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night’
• ‘Impaired by alcohol’.

‘Pedestrian-failed to judge vehicle’s path/speed’ and ‘pedestrian-failed to look properly’ were the most commonly recorded in the majority of local authorities.

Where the contributory factor ‘wearing dark clothing at night’ was attributed to a pedestrian (n=150), it was more commonly assigned to males (n=121).

83% of the pedestrians were deemed to bear some responsibility where the contributory factor ‘dangerous action in the carriageway’ was attributed. The 46-55 age group was the most commonly represented in relation to females; however, the majority were in the 26-45 age group for males.

Over half of the pedestrians were deemed to bear some responsibility in relation to the wrong use of pedestrian crossing – eight were female and 15 were male. The majority of the collisions occurred within an urban environment, with the City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City being the most commonly recorded.

‘Failed to look properly’, ‘failed to judge others path/speed’ and ‘careless, reckless or in a hurry’ were the most commonly recorded contributory factors assigned to vehicles involved in pedestrian fatalities, with cars having the highest representation.

During 2022, there were changes to the Highway Code in relation to the hierarchy of road users. Future analysis could explore if this has had a positive impact on pedestrian safety and a positive impact on the behaviour of all road users.

In terms of prevention and severity reduction, the collisions were assessed, and countermeasures were identified. Analysis of ‘people’ countermeasures (assigned to pedestrians) show that while ‘awareness training of vulnerable road users’ and ‘improved vulnerable road users conspicuity’ were the most frequently assigned countermeasures for collision avoidance, the confidence levels ‘possible’ and ‘likely’ were commonly recorded.

In relation to collision avoidance ‘road’ countermeasures assigned to pedestrians: ‘add pedestrian crossing (if in urban area and appropriate)’ and ‘add appropriate barrier’ were the most commonly recorded, followed by ‘add or widen pedestrian pathway’.

Countermeasures in relation to speed (‘add speed camera at locus’ and ‘reduce speed limit’) were commonly assigned to vehicles involved in pedestrian collisions. In relation to ‘add speed camera at locus’, there were 21 collisions which had a higher confidence level assigned – of note, there were two collisions recorded on the A71, A725 and A82 respectively. The majority of these collisions occurred on a road with a speed limit of 30mph.

Recommendations have been developed based on the in-depth analysis of the 351 fatal collisions, with a focus on reducing pedestrian fatalities. Clusters have been identified where collisions have occurred within close proximity and it is recommended site visits are undertaken to establish suitable measures to reduce collisions. Analysis highlighted:

• Seven postcode districts where pedestrian collisions most commonly occurred (namely ‘DD2’, ‘EH6’, ‘G13’, ‘G32’, ‘KY4’, ‘ML1’ and ‘ML3’
• Collisions which occurred on the A725 (Coatbridge), Dubbs Road (Port Glasgow) and A(M)823 which occurred within close proximity of each other
• Three collisions within Edinburgh City which occurred at, and near to the junction, where the A901 meets Leith Walk
• Collisions within Glasgow City centre where the contributory factor ‘wrong use of pedestrian crossing facility’ was assigned
• ‘Failure to look properly’ and ‘failure to judge others path/speed properly’ was commonly attributed to vehicles – whereby the collisions frequently occurred at junctions and crossroads
• Priority locations for consideration of speed reduction or the addition of barriers, pedestrian crossings, footpaths, street lighting or speed cameras have been provided.

Recommendations have been developed (aligned to the pillars of the Safe System) which aim to improve road safety and reduce pedestrian fatalities through:

• Education and awareness
• Legislation
• Practical actions.

Positive action from Police Scotland, Transport Scotland, partner agencies and all road users is required to reduce pedestrian fatalities on Scottish roads.