A Vision for Scotland

A Vision for Scotland

Our vision is for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030.

It is unacceptable that anyone is killed or seriously-injured on our roads and this Framework identifies the part everyone of us has to play in ensuring our long-term aspiration for that Vision Zero to become a reality. It builds on the approach and actions set out in the first Framework "Go Safe on Scotland's Roads It's Everyone's Responsibility", published in 2009, and recognises the significant contribution made to meeting the 2020 casualty reduction targets. Drawing on the latest evidence, it reflects recent successes, highlights key challenges for the immediate and longer-term, and sets out new, ambitious targets, key performance indicators, and strategic actions for the next decade, to help shape our collective effort, inspire collaboration, and frame a shared vision for the future.

The Safe System approach to road safety delivery is international best practice (see Figure 2 below). It sets out an ambitious approach to road safety management based on well-established safety and organisational principles. It is a synthesis of current knowledge about how to effectively manage for better results, and builds on best practice, using innovative solutions and new technologies. The Safe System comprises both an explicit goal and a strategy by which it can be delivered.

• The explicit, longer-term goal of the Safe System is for a road traffic system which becomes free from death and serious injury through incremental, targeted improvements within a specified safety performance framework. It is backed up by interim, quantitative targets to reduce numbers of deaths and serious injuries - usually measured over a ten-year period. There is also a focus on targeting those intermediate outcomes which are causally-related to death and serious injury, such as: average speeds; seatbelt use; sober driving; the safety and quality of roads and vehicles; and emergency medical system response. It involves an important paradigm shift from trying to prevent all collisions towards preventing death, and mitigating serious injury in collisions, a problem which is largely achievable based on current knowledge.

• The strategy puts people at its centre, and aims for a more-forgiving road system that takes human vulnerability and fallibility into account; people are fragile and make mistakes that can lead to collisions. A Safe (road) System mitigates that with its five pillars - effectively layers of protection - in the form of: safe road use; safe roads and roadsides; safe vehicles; safe speeds; and better post-crash response; all working in harmony to prevent deaths and serious injuries.

Figure 2: Safe System approach to road safety

Is the vision set out for the next 10 years the right one?

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To help achieve our Vision, the Framework identifies five outcomes (Safe Road Use, Safe Roads & Roadsides, Safe Speeds, Safe Vehicles and Post-Crash Response) which describe road safety environment it aims to deliver these outcomes align with the five pillars of the Safe System (see diagram below)

Five Outcomes of the Safe System

Safe Road Use

A Safe System involves those who manage and design the roads as well as those who use them; each is responsible for, and must contribute to, eradicating fatal and serious injuries. Ultimately, all road users are expected to use the roads safely and comply with the rules. Safe road users are competent at all levels, including: paying full attention to the road ahead and the task in hand; adapting to the conditions (weather, the presence of other users, etc.); travelling at lower speeds; not driving while impaired through drink, drugs (including medicines) or fatigue; not being distracted by in-vehicle technology (mobile phones, entertainment systems, sat navs, etc.); and giving sufficient room to all other road users, no matter what their mode of travel. Safe road users respect other road users at all times and assume responsibility for others' safety as well as their own.

Measures to encourage safe road use also include working together to reduce car-based traffic, inspiring people to use active modes, such as walking and cycling, or to use public transport rather than their own vehicles. Education interventions are also important, to ensure road users are risk-aware, can develop coping strategies for high-risk situations, and act appropriately to keep themselves and others safe on the road.

Safe Roads and Roadsides

In a Safe System, roads are designed to reduce the risk of collisions, and to mitigate the severity of injury should a collision occur. A combination of design and maintenance of roads and roadsides supported by the implementation of a range of strategies to ensure that roads and roadsides can be as safe as possible can reduce casualties on our roads. One way in which this can be achieved is to segregate different kinds of road users and to segregate traffic moving in different directions or at different speeds. If this is not possible, a speed limit to protect the most vulnerable road users can be implemented.

Safe Speeds

Speed limits in a Safe System are based on aiding crash-avoidance and reducing the speed at which impacts occur, to ensure the body's limit for physical trauma is not reached or exceeded. The Safe System aims to establish appropriate speed limits according to the features of the road, the function it serves, and the physical tolerance of those who use it.

The setting of speed limits should also be determined by the road environment and the vehicles in use rather than the behaviour of road users. The Safe System seeks to enforce existing speed limits and ensure road users understand and comply with them.

Safe Vehicles

Vehicles are designed and regulated to minimise the occurrence and consequences of collisions to road users, including the occupants themselves, but also to pedestrians, cyclists, horse-riders and motorcyclists. Making vehicles safer involves both 'active' safety measures, such as autonomous emergency braking, which can prevent collisions occurring in the first place, and 'passive' safety measures, such as seatbelts and airbags, which protect occupants (and other road users) if a collision does occur. It is also vital to ensure vehicle roadworthiness is regulated to the highest standards. Technology within vehicles, such as feedback from the speedometer and seatbelt reminders can also educate road users about safe road use.

Increasingly, roads and vehicles will be managed within an intelligent transport system, relying on ever-more autonomous vehicles and smart infrastructure. As safety becomes hardwired into vehicle technology and road design, there is potential to further reduce road casualties and deaths through this route.

Post-crash response

It is vital to work with the emergency services and the National Health Service (NHS) to enable the best possible response to collisions, ensure victims are effectively cared for, and facilitate meaningful investigations into the causes and potential solutions for the future. Health outcomes for victims rely on the ability of the system to quickly locate and provide emergency first responder care, in order to stabilise victims and transport them to hospital for further specialist treatment.