Ministerial Foreword

Ministerial Foreword

I'm delighted to present to you a draft of Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2030, which sets out an ambitious and compelling long-term goal for road safety where no-one dies or is seriously injured by 2050.

This draft, building on the strength of the 2020 Framework, advocates a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world. To help achieve that vision, the Framework sets out five strategic outcomes which describe the road safety environment it aims to deliver; these outcomes align with the five pillars of the Safe System: Safe Road Use; Safe Vehicles; Safe Speeds; Safe Roads and Roadsides; and Post-crash Response. It also introduces a comprehensive performance management system which will help us gain a much clearer understanding of the different issues influencing overall safety performance, and monitor delivery of the Framework more effectively. In addition, and in order to improve communications between national and local level, the Framework creates a third tier in its governance structure - Local Partnership Forums.

The Road Safety Framework to 2020 brought forward a strong partnership approach to the delivery of many road safety strategies and initiatives, and has served us well. We could not have achieved this without the drive and determination of all our stakeholders working together to make a positive impact on casualty reduction, and we hope to build on that going forward to 2030 and beyond. As we go to print, provisional headline figures for road casualties reported to the police in Scotland in 2019^[1] show the total number of casualties fell to 7,594, the lowest number since annual records began in 1950. In 2018, Scotland's overall road death rate of 30 per million population was the fifth lowest of 42 countries surveyed in international comparisons. However, one death is one too many and there is more we can do, and will do, to realise our vision.

The Scottish Government and our partners are committed to making Scotland's road travel safe for everybody. However, all road users have a part to play in the success of the Framework by keeping our roads safe for themselves and others. Hence the motto "Together, making Scotland's roads safer". Embedding the Safe System approach at national, regional, local and even individual level will play a major part in achieving this. This requires political leadership, strategic clarity and decisive action, as well as ownership by all of us elected officials, transport professionals and citizens. This Framework uses the words "we" and "our" to reflect that it is not just a strategy for Scottish Ministers or safety partners. It is a Framework for all road users and, therefore, its vision, outcomes, challenges, strategic actions and targets belong to each and every one of us.

Collectively, we must ensure the safety of every road user and, given the aspirations of our health and climate emergency policies, this includes protection for those who choose to walk, wheel and cycle. The Scottish Government is more committed than ever to its vision that communities are shaped around people, with walking and cycling the most popular choice for shorter, everyday journeys. This Framework is a great opportunity to demonstrate how road safety can contribute to cross-cutting national priorities.

I encourage you to analyse the document and I look forward to hearing your views on the draft Road Safety Framework to 2030.

Michael Matheson, MSP,
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure
and Connectivity