Introduction
About this report
This Statement of Community Involved (SoCI) provides a record of the activities that have taken place as part of the National Speed Management Review (NSMR) public consultation exercise.
Based on the Transport Scotland Engagement strategy, this consultation and engagement activity focused on maximising stakeholder interaction from the beginning to:
- establish trust and credibility in the engagement process which will support future stages and development of the review;
- demonstrate meaningful engagement and transparency and;
- increase awareness of the NSMR in Scotland.
This report includes:
- background and context
- consultation objectives and approach
- details of the materials used to promote the consultation
- feedback mechanisms used
- details of public engagement events
- methodology used to analyse feedback
- analysis of feedback.
Background and context
Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 (“the Framework” aims for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 alongside a long-term goal of no one being killed or seriously injured in road collisions by 2050. The Framework is underpinned by the Safe System Approach, upon which the NSMR’s principles are based. An overview of the Safe System Approach is shown in Figure 1 and the full report on Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 is available to read online.
Figure 1: Safe System used to inform Scotland's Road Safety Framework 2030
Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world
- Safe vehicles
- Post-crash response
- Safe roads and roadsides
- Safe speeds
- Safe Road use
The review has examined changes to speed limits on Scotland’s roads. It aims to ensure speed limits are appropriate and contribute to reducing the number of those being killed and injured on Scotland’s roads.
The review assessed a range of options that could enhance safety on Scotland’s roads. This included extensive research, including an analysis of international practices through a literature review, and engagement with national and international partners to understand best practices in managing speed.
Initiatives were identified to enhance road safety and several of these related to a review of speed limits for different road types and vehicle classifications. As part of the review, options were considered to reduce speed limits on motorways and dual carriageways, however, impact assessment work found that these changes could lead to a significant increase in journey times of approximately 15% and could have a significant impact on the economy including for business and tourism. Therefore, these options were discounted.
The options brought forward to consultation focused on reviewing national speed limits for single carriageways and speed limits for heavy goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on single carriageways and dual carriageways.
The NSMR Consultation launched on 27 November 2024 to gather views on proposed changes to national speed limits in Scotland.
About the proposals
The proposals consulted on were to:
- reduce the national speed limit on single carriageway roads from 60mph to 50mph for motor vehicles.
- increase the speed limit for goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageway roads and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageway roads.
The proposed changes have been evaluated in conjunction with extensive research. This concluded that the impacts of these changes could reduce the number and severity of injury collisions, whilst broadly maintaining journey times, improving journey time reliability and reducing driver frustration.