Meeting minutes - Road Safety Framework Local Partnership Forum - North - 15 June 2023

Attendees

  • Kieren Green (Chair) - Transport Scotland - Road Safety Policy
  • Caroline Hay (CHa) - Transport Scotland – Road Safety Scotland
  • Marco Bardelli (MB) - Transport Scotland - Area Manager
  • Stuart Wilson (SW) - Transport Scotland – Safety and Development –Chair of A9 Safety Group
  • Ivet Gazova (IG) - Transport Scotland Statistics
  • Andrew Wilkinson (AW) - Aberdeenshire Council
  • Calum Mackenzie (CM) - Western Isles Council
  • Colin Maciver (CMa) - Western Isles Council
  • John MacLeod (JM) - Tubes
  • Diane Anderson (DA) - Moray Council
  • Elaine Penny (EP) - Moray Council
  • Fiona Reid (FR) - Dundee City Council
  • Neil Hutcheson (NH) - Shetland Council
  • Ian Wallace (IW) - Aberdeenshire Council
  • Ian Graham (IGr) - Highland Council
  • Yvonne Scott (YS) - Orkney Council
  • Simon Bradshaw (SB) - Cycling Scotland
  • Brian Cargill (BC) - Perth and Kinross Council
  • David McArthur (DM) - Perth and Kinross Council
  • Caroline Hood (CH) - Robert Gordon University
  • Vycki Ritson (VR) - Aberdeen City Council
  • Paul Grant (PG) - Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

In Attendance

  • Michelle Little (ML) - Transport Scotland Road Safety Policy
  • Anne Stewart (AS) - Police Scotland - North Safety Camera Unit
  • Karen McDonnell (KM) - RoSPA
  • Lorraine Mackie (LMa) - Police Scotland

Apologies

  • Rona Gibb (RG) - Paths for All
  • Ewan Wallace (EW) - Aberdeenshire Council
  • Darren Chambers (DC) - Scottish Ambulance Service
  • Andy Barclay (AB) - Police Scotland
  • Lisa MacKellaich (LM) - Highlands Council

Secretariat

  • Lorraine Forrester (LF) - Transport Scotland Road Safety Policy

Agenda Item 1 – Welcome and Introductions

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and updated on two new members, Simon Bradshaw from Cycling Scotland and Paul Grant, who has replaced Campbell Sands from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Karen McDonnell from RoSPA also attended to present on their ScORSA initiative which is supported through the Road Safety Framework Fund. The Chair then proceeded with round table introductions.

Previous minutes and actions

The minutes from the previous meeting were circulated and no comments were received, these have since been published on the Transport Scotland (TS) website. All actions from the last meeting have been completed or are covered within the agenda.

YS highlighted a point she would like to amend in the published minutes from last meeting and would provide the wording to allow the Secretariat to update this.

Feedback from Governance Groups

A revised schedule for the governance groups has been agreed and going forward meetings will take place in the months of June and November, which follow the Key Reported Road Casualty statistics publication in May and the Reported Road Casualty statistics publication in October. The published data will support more meaningful discussions at the governance meetings.

The Strategic Partnership Board (SPB) met on 5 June and the Operational Partnership Group (OPG) met on 7 June, with both expressing concerns about the rise in fatalities. Feedback from OPG on the Key Priority Groups noted that they are still in stages of development and hope to be set up soon.

Consideration on holding a road safety summit is being discussed, an update will be provided on this in due course. OPG members also noted concerns about local plans being up to date and the Chair of the OPG will be meeting the SCOTS representative.

Action Point: YS to provide a revision to previous published minutes and Secretariat to update on TS website.

Action Point: Secretariat to circulate both SPB and OPG minutes to members once approved.

Action Point: Update members on a road safety summit.

Agenda Item 2 - Knowledge and Data Analysis

Update on 2030 targets and localised stats

IG shared the progress towards the 2030 casualty reduction targets and intermediate outcome targets, including localised statistics referring to the latest available data recently published in the Key Reported Road Casualty Scotland 2022 statistics. During the presentation the following points were highlighted;

  • In Scotland, there was an increase of fatalities from 141 to 174, a 23% increase for serious injuries and slight injuries are up 9%, although noted total casualties is the third lowest on record. This increase is higher than other UK nations which sit at 9%.
  • LPF North statistics has seen an increase in fatalities and back to the 2014/18 average, adding there has been 20 more fatalities in 2022 (63 in total) from the previous year.
  • Within LPF North, 70 plus age group has seen the biggest increase in casualties, with motorcycle KSIs (killed and seriously injured) also increased when compared to the other LPF areas.

IG also shared a map with members which showed the location of each fatality and serious injury that occurred on Scotland’s roads in 2022, and also details the mode of transport.

SB highlighted that caution should be given when considering the drop in cycling casualties as this could be due to a change of modes and as more people chose to cycle as a mode of transport we can’t be complacent.

Traffic estimates are expected from the Department for Transport (DfT) in the coming weeks. This will allow us to see what the modal shift has been following the pandemic and will be presented at the next meeting.

The Chair asked partners about actions they are undertaking that addresses motorcyclists and older drivers statistics in their area given these are the most problematic areas in the north.

Members highlighted some of the activities they are undertaking or collaborating on such as; Rider Refinement North, young road user events, Operation Close Pass and Cycle Awareness Training collaboration with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, including Older Drivers input.

Action Point: Secretariat to circulate stats presentation and link to casualty map, and for members to provide any feedback directly to IG on the map.

Action Point: TS stats to provide an update on traffic estimates at next meeting.

Agenda Item 3 – Updates/Discussions

Partner Updates

Partner updates were circulated in advance of the meeting and key points were discussed, with the following being highlighted.

SB updated on cycle awareness training noting some funding is available this year and if local authorities/partners want training for their fleets to get in touch. SB also advised that they are piloting with East Lothian and Renfrew Council (theory input for business users) to get their message across. SB agreed to liaise about cycle training for Perth and Kinross Council.

AW advised they had sourced a speed compliance tool which they are using to rank and prioritise. Community engagement is also being prioritised – speed related around schools and trialling car free at schools with signage when schools out – apart from residents. In addition, they are looking to install passive snow poles for bikers – replacing metal with plastic.

CH noted that the Safety in Numbers evaluation, supported by TS, is in the final stages and will be reporting soon.

CHa highlighted that the Road Safety Scotland annual seminar was well attended with copies of the presentations available. Continuing, CHa updated on campaigns that had been delivered, but noted that RSS is awaiting spending approval for other activities such as re-design and replacement of some school resources and additional campaign activity. An update was also provided on Good Egg safety, signposting available training and some free places.

LMa added that they have some traffic officers who would like to attend the Good Egg course and are awaiting confirmation.

NH stated that Shetland Council now has a road safety strategy and action plan in place, which has been approved by the committee.

FR updated that the sustainable transport team has been putting exclusion zones around schools and noted difficulties in terms of compliance. FR sought views of others on their experiences with compliance. The group shared that;

  • Ask LPF West for anything supportive on compliance that has worked well in their areas.
  • Aberdeen City has used a charity and took the approach of getting children’s feedback. It was followed up with some wardens but wasn’t evaluated.
  • Perth and Kinross advised of a banner competition to help spread the message.
  • Aberdeenshire used JRSO scheme to deliver the message and tried parking buddies.
  • The Chair highlighted a framework funded project called Trailblazers, which is currently running. Although this is a road safety initiative, it does also support more active travel to school and messaging of parking outside schools and agreed that we can try and invite the project manager along to the next meeting.

IGr provided an updated on 20 mph as Highlands is an early adopter of the National Strategy for 20 mph Speed Limits. Highlands programme will go live on 24th July with 400 initial assessments and a number of towns and communities taking part.

ML added that as part of the National Strategy for 20 mph Speed Limits, local authorities are completing a road assessments with returns due back by end of June. After these have been analysed, the information will be provided to the Task Group to scope next steps for implementation. Work is also ongoing with Scottish Government Marketing and Insights Unit on developing a campaign with resources available for local areas.

The Chair advised that although Rona Gibb couldn’t be here today, an update was provided highlighting three funds which are available with the link being provided to members.

Action Point: LF to ask LPF West members about any success on compliance with parking restrictions at schools and report back to group.

Action point: Chair/Secretariat to invite project manager for Trailblazers project to next meeting.

Agenda Item 4 – Funding

Road Safety Framework and Evaluation Fund

A call from application to the Road Safety Framework and Evaluation fund closed on 9 April, with project summaries passed to the OPG and SPB for approval. This resulted in the following five projects being approved;

Police Scotland – Senior Driver – Fitness to Drive Assessments (Framework Fund)

RoSPA – Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ScORSA) (Framework Fund)

Safety Camera Programme – Distracted Driver Technology Trial (Framework Fund)

Agilysis – Safe System Training and Capacity Building (Framework Fund)

Cycling Scotland – Vulnerable Road User Awareness Training (Evaluation Fund)

Presentations – ScORSA/Police Scotland

KM gave a presentation on ScORSA activity, it’s annual evaluation and its role in reducing KSI’s on Scotland’s roads. With the following being noted;

  • The project is supported through the Road Safety Framework Fund and activities underpinned by the Safe System. They have an evidence based approach and undertake research and develop content on their themes.
  • ScORSA has delivered 10 road safety hours with the final one due on the 20th June on tyres and tarmac. They have also recorded two podcast series, support key road safety messaging and activity.
  • All content is available to view on the ScORSA website.

LMa gave a presentation on the Police Scotland Older Drivers – Fitness to Driver Assessment (FTDAs) which has recently been successful in gaining funding approval via the Road Safety Framework Fund. The following points were highlighted;

  • This will support and promote the roll out of FTDA’s in the North of Scotland in conjunction with driving mobility and Driveability Scotland.
  • A FTDA is different from a driving test. It is designed to review driving skills and at the end, the driver will be given an feedback on their skills and ability.
  • Through engagement with partners, families and utilising media, we hope to raise awareness of the risks associated with fitness to drive as we age.
  • Engagement is also taking place with the local Health and Social Care Partnership to ensure that an appropriate support package is built into this pilot.

Road Safety Improvement Fund

LF advised that the budget for the Road Safety Improvement Fund had increased from an initial £7.5 to £9.5 million and that grant offer letters were issued to all 32 local authorities on 9 June. LF updated on the distribution approach to the fund and the requirement for a published road safety plan or strategy.

Agenda Item 5 – AOB

MAST Training

The Chair advised that through the Road Safety Framework Fund, TS has continued the subscription to MAST for another year. Included in this subscription is a half day training course where all users in Scotland can attend. A date for this is yet to be set, however, a doodle poll will be issued soon in order to identify the most suitable date.

The next meeting will take place in November and an invite will be issued in due course.

Action Point: Secretariat to issue next meeting invite for November 2023.

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Published Date 10 Jul 2023 Type Mode of transport Topic