Overarching Context

Overarching Context

Scotland's new National Transport Strategy (NTS2) published in February 2020 sets out an ambitious and compelling vision for our transport system for the next 20 years, one that protects our climate and improves our lives.

The Strategy advocates a Vision for Scotland's transport system, that will help create great places a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors. It sets out Priorities to support that Vision: reduces inequalities; takes climate action; helps deliver inclusive economic growth; and improves our health and wellbeing. Within these Priorities there is greater focus on reducing inequalities and taking climate action to ensure we address the key challenges we face.

We are now in an environment where the move to low and zero carbon transport is essential to our future wellbeing. In response to the global climate emergency, the Scottish Government has made one of the most ambitious climate commitments in the world to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Over the 20-year period of NTS2, the role of transport in achieving this target will be crucial and will require further development and use of low carbon technology. It will also require significant societal changes, including a reduction in the demand for unsustainable travel.

Importantly, NTS2 signals the future direction of transport and provides the context within which decisions, in and beyond government, will need to be made. From local and central governments and regional transport partnerships implementing policies, to businesses and individuals taking account of their actions and impacts when making travel decisions, we all have a responsibility for delivering the Strategy and making sure it is a success. These ambitions also extend into the strategic transport investment decisions that will be made a part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review 2.

The draft Road Safety Framework to 2030 has taken into consideration the above-mentioned government's ambitions as well as the overarching context in which road safety operates (see figure 1 below).

Road safety policy and delivery will play a pivotal role in supporting policies and priorities and can help achieve outcomes across a number of Strategic Priorities:

✓ Addressing the Climate Emergency for a 'healthier society, and a diversified, resilient and sustainable economy'

✓ Active Travel Vision for Scotland

✓ Scotland's Public Health for 'a Scotland where we live in vibrant, healthy and safe places and communities'

✓ Justice Strategy for Scotland where 'We live in safe, cohesive and resilient communities'

✓ Education to assess and manage risk and understand the impact of risk-taking behaviour

✓ National Performance Framework where 'We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe'

✓ National Planning Framework with 'A successful sustainable place supporting economic growth, regeneration and the creation of welldesigned places'

The place principle^[3] applies to road safety partners responsible for providing services and looking after assets through 'a place to work and plan together to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth and create more successful places'.

The new Framework will sit within a wider UN/EU/UK context; for example, our proposed road casualty reduction targets for 2030 is taking cognisance of the UN resolution A/74/L.86 "Improving global road safety"^[4] adopted on 30 August 2020 and the Stockholm Declaration^[5], agreed by UN Member States in February 2020, calling for a reduction in road traffic deaths and serious injuries by at least 50% from 2020 to 2030, a commitment to collect data on serious injuries, and providing targets to reduce fatalities and serious injuries among pedestrians,

cyclists, motorcyclists and other vehicle users. In June 2019, the European Commission published its EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 which contains the EU's long-term strategic goal of "Vision Zero" - no deaths or serious injuries on European roads - by 2050. Road safety in Scotland is also governed by various pieces of legislation dealing with reserved issues such as motoring offences, vehicle standards and driving licencing or devolved such as national speed limits.