Agenda Item 4 - Partner Updates

Update from Board Members

SCOTS

CP noted the local campaigns that local authorities are running. Local authorities are unable to undertake basic maintenance on their roads, such as potholes, and anticipates that this may be reflected in the casualty stats in the coming years. Continuing, CP highlighted that there is great initiatives from TS/partners on capital spend, but require resource for maintaining initiatives that are already developed.

GH noted the issues experienced locally and highlighted the importance of implementing the Safe System.

Police Scotland

HS provided an update on the campaigns that Police Scotland has delivered this year, the stops made under each campaign and the offences detected. Campaigns that Police Scotland have ran: Motorcyclist, Seatbelt, Summer Drink & Drug Drive, Commercial Vehicles, Drug Driving, Vulnerable Road Users, Speed and most recently, Get Ready For Winter. It was also noted that the Fitness to Drive initiative and New Driver Early Intervention Scheme are currently ongoing.

GH noted that if we can encourage speed compliance in commercial vehicles this can improve behaviours in other road users. GH added that in Sweden, all police officers, not just those in roads policing, must carry out at least 20 minutes of enforcement on every shift.

HS advised that you don’t have to be a roads policing officer to undertake enforcement duties, highlighting the importance of tackling offences if detected, however, noted the resource pressures that the Force is experiencing.

SF queried if it is possible to see stats on campaigns from previous years to compare, suggesting that if the offences detected go down, is the message getting across?

HS replied that it is difficult to quantify this, as the Force target areas known for non-compliance and also collision cluster sites. People’s attitudes have also changed from pre-pandemic, so it may be difficult to draw a comparison from previous years.

Members discussed the pandemic and its influence on peoples’ behaviour and how, in turn this may have negatively affected casualty figures. The Board agreed to try to better understand this in terms of the unwelcomed bounce in figures coming out of the pandemic, what this could mean going forward, and understand if there is a correlation between the two.

SF highlighted the driver attitudes and behaviour survey that is undertaken each year and suggested that the Board compares this data from previous years.

OH commented that behaviours can be on an individual or a societal basis; individual psychology vs social psychology.

NHS

OH noted that the NHS is under pressure, and that reducing casualties will have a positive impact on the NHS. OH highlighted that he sits on the Transport Sustainability Group, who look at the National Performance Framework. There is regular engagement with Scottish Directors of Public Health Group and NHS Chief Executive Board, and suggested GH to liaise with the respective groups.

SFRS

TK advised that the SFRS continue to deliver educational messages, and build national partnerships to tackle emerging trends. The SFRS is working with TyreSafe to deliver campaigns on tyre safety. The BikerDown initiative and biker engagement in the NC250 partnership is continuing to be delivered. SFRS work with Police Scotland to deliver initiatives and noted the initiatives involving the VR headsets have been well received.

Road Safety Policy team, Transport Scotland

National Strategy for 20mph Speed Limits – the task group continue to meet to discuss the most appropriate route for implementation. There are two options; appropriate roads and national legislation. £1.4m was allocated to local authorities to identify appropriate roads within their respective authority. Guidance will be shared once an approach is agreed.

National Speed Management Review - The Review is due to be completed in the coming weeks. It covers comprehensive analysis of all types of speed management policies (including HGV speed limits) and initiatives in Scotland as well as a review of what has been introduced in other countries throughout the world.

The review process will thereafter include a stakeholder and public consultation to consider their views on whether any changes to speed limit policies and speed management measures should be introduced as part of our speed management plan.

Safe System Training & Education - All stakeholders of the Framework (and further) will be contacted to participate. The first course for the two day training was held on 31 Oct/1 Nov, which was delivered to colleagues in TS, with the next course being delivered on 22 Nov/23 Nov. We will look to deliver this to road safety partners in 2024. The Safe System training and manual will be available to all road safety professionals specific to Scotland’s needs and will continue to be available post funding.

Road Traffic Fatality Research

An overview of the recently published Road Traffic Fatality Research was provided. Members were asked to read the executive summary and pay particular attention to section 7 (recommendations) of the full report.

Board members agreed for GH to work with, and allocate each of the actions, to OPG members, and report back to the Board. It was also asked for GH to raise this at the Road Safety Summit.

Safety Camera Programme

2022/23

• A range of safety camera technologies were deployed at over 500 enforcement locations.
• Target national enforcement hours for fixed camera deployments was 70% of the targeted level. Defective road surfaces, delays in procurement, maintenance and repairs were noted as key factors which impacted on performance levels.
• Target enforcement hours for mobile camera deployments was 63% of the target. This was due primarily to fleet issues and staff availability.
• Target enforcement hours for mobile cameras during hours of darkness was 63% of the targeted level. Target enforcement hours for mobile cameras during weekends was 64% of the targeted level. It is expected that the proportion of enforcement hours against target will significantly improve in 2024/25 once a range of new mobile camera vans are deployed.

Board members noted the update and agreed to the publication of the 2022/23 Safety Camera Programme Annual Report.

2023/24

• The positive impact on road collisions is evident from a recent (October 2023) assessment which showed that at over the last 3 year period approximately 76% of camera sites have led to a reduction in injury collisions. 
• A site selection process is currently live and this is yet to conclude its analysis of potential new sites which meet minimum site prioritisation.