Tag: speeding

Campaign urges drivers in Edinburgh to slow down as 1 in 5 deaths on Scotland’s roads caused by speeding

The Scottish Government, including the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, is tackling speeding on Scotland’s roads with a new road safety campaign, asking drivers in Edinburgh to slow down to help reduce collisions and casualties.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop, and Police Scotland’s Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan launched the campaign at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre in South Queensferry.

With speeding contributing to 1 in 5 deaths on Scotland’s roads1, safety cameras play a crucial role in reducing speed and casualties, ultimately saving lives.

Global research shows that camera sites led to 42% less fatal or serious injuries over a four-year period, while fixed camera sites reduced the number of speeders by 70% in the same time period.2

Speeding increases the likelihood and severity of collisions and casualties. In 2022, there were 615 fatalities or casualties on roads in Edinburgh.

Transport and Environment Convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, said: “This is a really important campaign to ensure drivers here in Edinburgh and across the country properly consider their driving behaviour. By slowing down and driving more carefully we can reduce collisions and casualties on our roads.

“All drivers need to respect speed limits and always consider how weather and road conditions can impact their driving. 

“We want Edinburgh to be as safe a city as possible for all road users and pedestrians and this campaign is a good step forward.”

Nearly half (44%) of reported casualties on Scotland’s roads take place on rural roads, however because speeds are higher on these roads, they account for almost three-quarters (74%) of road deaths.3 

Research shows fatal collisions caused by drivers travelling at 65mph could be halved if the drivers slowed down by just 5mph.4

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop, said: “No matter how experienced you are as a driver, collisions can happen to anyone, and the consequences could be devastating – for you, for other road users, and for loved ones. 

“We’re urging drivers to consider their driving behaviour and reduce their speed, making our roads safer for everyone.”

There are more than 300 safety camera locations across Scotland, placed where there is evidence of injury collisions and speeding and where they have the greatest potential to reduce casualties.

Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan, Head of Road Policing, said: “Speeding is always a risk. It only takes a split second to lose control and it only has to happen once.

“A collision affects more than just you and your vehicle – it impacts your family, the victim’s family, emergency services and people who witness it.

“Everyone has to take responsibility to save lives on Scotland’s roads.”

Running across TV, radio and digital channels, the campaign delivers a strong message to drivers – You only have to lose control once. The message is brought to life in a thought-provoking TV ad highlighting the split-second moment before a collision from a driver’s point of view.

For more information about the campaign, go to roadsafety.scot.

Follow Road Safety Scotland Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) (@roadsafetyscot) pages for more details.

RoSPA: Control your speed to save lives this season

Reduce your speed to save lives, that’s the message from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) as we head into some of the darkest months of the year.

The most recent Department for Transport (DfT) data revealed that in 2022, there were around 40,000 people injured on our roads during hours of darkness. This included 8,780 people who were seriously injured, and 737 who sadly died.

Rebecca Guy, Road Safety Manager, said: “This time of year sees a worrying combination of darker skies and poor weather conditions, which can pose unique risks to motorists and pedestrians and cyclists – these risks are amplified if someone is speeding.

“Higher speeds mean that drivers have less time to identify and react to what is happening around them, and it takes longer for the vehicle to stop, removes the driver’s safety margin and turns near misses into collisions.

“Driving at 30mph, vehicles are travelling at around three car lengths a second – one blink and the driver may fail to see the early warning brake lights; a short glance away and the movement of a child behind a parked car could be missed[i].

“With that in mind, and the poor visibility this season poses, it’s clear to see the tragic consequences speeding could have.”

RoSPA advises the following when driving in darker periods of the day:

Be prepared: As the UK experiences shorter days and longer nights, it is crucial for motorists to adjust their driving habits. The decreased visibility during early mornings and evenings demands heightened caution. RoSPA urges drivers to use dipped headlights, ensure clean windshields, and to be extra cautious when navigating poorly lit roads.

Control your speed: Darkness amplifies the risks associated with speeding. The lack of visibility, compounded by higher speeds, can lead to devastating collisions. The DfT reports that in 2022, exceeding the speed limit was deemed a contributory factor for 19% of all fatal collisions. In 9 per cent of fatal collisions, driving too fast for the conditions was deemed a contributory factor[ii]. RoSPA emphasises that adhering to speed limits and driving to the conditions is paramount, especially when daylight hours are limited.

Rebecca Guy continues: “If you must travel in the dark, I suggest leaving ample time for the journey, ensuring you can travel within the speed limit, and maintain a safe distance behind other road users.

“As we age, our ability to adapt to changing light reduces, which impacts how we see colours and contrasts in low-light conditions. It also takes longer for the eyes to recover from glare – from one second at age 15, to nine seconds at 65.”

Slower Speeds, Safer Streets for Edinburgh: Living Streets group launches Action Plan

Action Points for the City of Edinburgh Council

1  CEC  should set a ‘Vision Zero’ target of no deaths or serious injuries on its roads, within its new Road Safety Plan, with a target of 2030 for realising that vision.  (A more ambitious target than the national one is realistic in Edinburgh, where speeds are lower and road  safety problems are less diverse.)  

2   Excessive speeding is the principal source of the collisions that result in casualties. Realising this vision will require stronger and more comprehensive actions to reduce speeds on the city’s roads. Stronger measures both to enforce speed limits, and to redesign streets are essential. 

3   Maximum use should be made of both fixed and mobile speed cameras, and red light cameras for enforcement.  Suitable technology should be employed to ensure that the breaking of all speed limits (from 20 to 70 mph) can be enforced. Successful schemes on main roads using average speed cameras, such as that on Dalkeith Rd, should be rolled out across the city. But camera deployments must also be targeted by evidence of highly excessive speeds, not just by whether these have yet resulted in collisions.

4  Enforcement of 20mph limits across the city is never likely to be a priority for the police however, and CEC initiative and support will be essential. Involvement of the public and community groups, through initiatives such as ‘Speedwatch’, is vital for the identification of speeding problems and targeting of enforcement efforts on residential streets. 

5  With the necessary legal powers, the council could readily undertake enforcement actions, alongside and co-ordinated with the police, under a system analogous to that for parking offences. Lesser speeding offences should be subject to fines issued by council wardens, with evidence of more serious abuses passed on for action by the police. CEC should seek the necessary devolved powers for such an enforcement system, with the fines set to fully fund the costs of enforcement. 

6   A renewed emphasis on street redesign is needed, with the full range of traffic calming measures flexibly used wherever required. More use of soft measures such as speed indicator signs can be helpful, but they are no substitute for the hard engineering measures such as humps, cushions, and speed tables that effectively curb speeds. A single road hump on the approach to a sharp bend for example can eliminate a serious risk. Perceptions of safety are also very important for pedestrians and are an additional benefit on traffic calmed streets.

7   Raised crossings should become the norm on residential streets with 20mph limits. There should be a presumption that all new crossings, whether formal or informal, should be raised, with appropriate tactile paving, making them safer and easier to use for pedestrians.  Especially where located at the approaches to junctions the slower speeds would have additional traffic calming benefits. 

8   The current CEC safety review of major junctions is very welcome and needs to be made comprehensive. There are also still a multitude of more minor junctions with dangerous wide splay entrances that need to be redesigned. A new targeted review and investment programme is needed to systematically improve them, with tighter radii, build outs and raised entrances, as appropriate.

9   School safety plans are needed that provide for safer routes and for the safer school entrance areas that are needed at many of the city’s schools. Wider pavements should be provided that allow for the concentration of pedestrian activity these areas inevitably attract, with reduced parking and less use of guardrail.  

10   Many pavements in the city are sub-standard, and often far too narrow.  A comprehensive review and investment programme is needed to widen pavements and meet minimum design standards wherever possible. Where narrower carriageway widths result this will often also help to slow traffic speeds.

Action Points for the Scottish Government

1   ‘Vision Zero’ has strong public support, but to be realistic it requires more resources to support camera enforcement of speed limits at national and local level. Fines should be set at increased levels to ensure that finance will be available to support sufficiently comprehensive enforcement efforts, independent of the more general state of public finances.

2    Fines and license penalties should be graduated by the degree of excessive speeding involved and should be applicable to employers as well as individual drivers, where there is evidence of repeat offending.

3   Powers should be devolved to local authorities to allow them to undertake proportionate enforcement actions through wardens and levy fines for offences including speeding, red light jumping, pavement cycling and illegal use of e-scooters in co-ordination with the police. This will be vital for effective enforcement efforts where 20 mph limits apply across residential areas, with police resources and priorities necessarily being stretched.  

4   National driver and employer education campaigns should be undertaken on the consequences of speeding, aimed at making speeding as socially unacceptable as driving with excess alcohol has become.

5   More advice and resources should be made available to local authorities to support the creation of safer streets through redesign and traffic calming. There is still a massive design deficit in terms of safety, but local authority road safety budgets and teams have been severely cut over recent years. Without strong and prioritised central government support, ‘vision zero’ will remain a mirage on many local authority streets. 

Living Streets Edinburgh Group

Drivers support wider use of average speed cameras on motorways

… despite more than half admitting to breaking the 70mph limit

= Drivers prefer average speed cameras to fixed position ones

= 36% don’t stick to 20mph-limits

More than half of drivers (56%) admit to breaking the speed limit on motorways with a third (34%) of those confessing to having travelled at speeds in excess of 80mph, research from an RAC reveals.

Three per cent say their fastest speed on a motorway was over 100mph while 4% believe their top speed was 91-100mph. While the vast majority – two-thirds (66%) – state their highest speed on a motorway was 71-80mph, a quarter (27%) claim to have driven at 81-90mph.

When asked why they broke the speed limit on a motorway, most drivers (39%) said they were simply following the example set by other motorists, although three-in-10 (31%) say it was because they thought it was safe to travel faster than 70mph.

Other common reasons for speeding on a motorway were: nothing else being on the road (28%); the speed limit being inappropriate (27%) and feeling pressure from other drivers behind (26%).

In terms of what form of speed enforcement drivers think is best for ensuring speed limit compliance on high speed roads where the speed limit is 60mph and 70mph, 58% of the 3,000-plus motorists surveyed for the RAC Report on Motoring said they favoured ‘average speed cameras’ which measure speeds between cameras rather than at a single, fixed location like traditional speed cameras.

Nearly a fifth (18%) felt fixed position cameras are most effective while 12% said it was mobile speed traps, with a similar proportion not offering an opinion.

While average speed cameras are used on a number of A-roads, on motorways they are currently only used in sections of roadworks. More than half of drivers (54%), however, said they would like to see them used in general motorway conditions enforcing the 70mph-limit. Only a quarter (26%) disagreed with this idea, with 18% unsure.

Average speed cameras were also preferred by the majority of drivers for use on 40-50mph limit roads with 46% saying this, compared to 29% for fixed position cameras. On 20-30mph limit roads however, fixed position cameras came out top with 43% of drivers saying they were best and a quarter (25%) opting for average speed cameras, only just ahead of police officers operating mobile speed traps (21%).

While compliance on roads with lower speed limits is far better than the 54% who admit to exceeding the 70mph-limit, an alarming four-in-10 (39%) still admit to frequently disobeying 20mph limits. This rises to a third (33%) on 60mph country roads – statistically some of our least safe roads – and to 36% on 30mph urban roads.

Very worryingly, 11% of limit-breakers claim to have driven above 40mph in a 30mph zone while 10% have exceeded 30mph in a 20mph zone. In the case of the latter, 45% of those who speed at least occasionally say this is because they believe the limit is ‘inappropriate’ for the area or stretch of road in question.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “Despite more than half of drivers admitting to regularly exceeding the 70-mph speed limit, road safety statistics clearly show that motorways are our safest roads.

“With so many motorists admitting to driving much faster than they should on the motorway, it was interesting to see such strong support for average speed cameras to be used more widely to enforce the 70-mph limit as opposed to just in roadworks, as is currently the case.

“We believe drivers see these cameras as being very effective at reducing speeds over longer distances and controlling traffic flow as well as being fairer than fixed position ones as they aren’t instantly punished for a momentary transgression.

“Our research shows speed limit compliance on all types of road has improved on previous years, but as our study was carried out during the pandemic we suspect this has partly been brought about by the reduction in the number of journeys carried out for the purposes of commuting – or for other business purposes – where drivers feel greater time pressure and may be more tempted to break the law by speeding.”

90% of motorists want speed cameras to check for vehicle tax, insurance and MOT

The UK’s largest independent road safety charity is urging the police to take notice of UK motorists who are calling for them to better utilise equipment already available for speed detection to ensure vehicles have valid insurance, MOT and Vehicle Excise Duty (often referred to as road tax).

The findings come from new research conducted by IAM RoadSmart, which has revealed that nine-in-ten (90 per cent) motorists, who were surveyed as part of the charity’s annual Safety Culture Report, backed the idea that speed cameras should also be used to catch drivers who are flouting these motoring violations.

Estimates suggest that someone is injured every 20 minutes on UK roads by an uninsured driver* and that more than a quarter of motorists don’t even know when their vehicle’s next MOT is due, while there’s around 630,000 unlicenced vehicles in the UK.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy & Research, said: “These results paint a very clear picture. Law-abiding motorists are in favour of the police using existing equipment to help make our roads safer by catching motorists who think the rules don’t apply to them.

“Of course, the primary purpose of catching speeding motorists is paramount but it should not be overlooked the suffering that drivers of vehicles which are uninsured, unlicenced and without a valid MOT can cause other road users.”

Meanwhile, further findings from the in-depth research of motorist attitudes by IAM RoadSmart discovered that an overwhelming majority, (82 per cent), also supported using cameras to automatically fine drivers who run red lights in urban areas.

The research also found that 80 per cent of motorists were in favour of using cameras to automatically fine drivers who drive more than 10mph over the speed limit on residential streets.

Neil added: “There is no excuse for speeding, driving uninsured, unlicenced or without a valid MOT. If speed camera partnerships are issuing speeding tickets they should also follow up on a wider range of offences and this is backed by the vast majority of drivers. 

“Getting law breakers off our roads could significantly help reduce the number of casualties caused by motorists with no regard for their motoring responsibilities.”

More than half of drivers break speed limit in residential areas

More than half of Britain’s drivers routinely broke the speed limit in built-up areas in 2020, according to new figures from the Department for Transport.

During the height of the first lockdown – April to June 2020 – 63% of motorists travelling on 30mph roads exceeded the speed limit. Drivers breaking the speed limit by 5-10 mph never dropped below 19% last year but spiked to 26% during the first lockdown.

Motorway driving echoed this behaviour although motorists broke the speed limit slightly less but tended to do so by 5 or 10mph in greater percentages. Single carriageway users (60 mph limit for cars) were more likely to comply with speed limits, with 10-17% breaking the limit and just 1-3% exceeding it by 10mph or more. 

Night drivers were most likely to break the 30mph speed limit in built-up areas, with 75% speeding between the hours of midnight and 6am, compared with an average of 37% of motorists during daylight hours.

The figures are based on driver behaviour on roads with free flowing traffic where there are no impediments such as bends or steep climbs. The report is based on nearly 40,000 vehicles observed on roads in residential areas, around 150,000 on motorways and 21,000 on single carriageways.

Responding to the new data, Greg Wilson, founder of leading car insurance comparison platform Quotezone.co.uk, says: “It’s staggering to realise that half of all motorists are breaking the speed limit across motorways, single carriageways and residential 30mph zones, but it’s the speeding offences that occur in those built-up areas that could potentially be the most dangerous, because far more accidents happen on these smaller roads than on motorways and dual carriageways.

“While some motorists may assume that there won’t be pedestrians or cyclists on the road after dark in these 30mph zones, there’s always a heightened risk of an accident when a driver exceeds the speed limit, so it’s worrying that the Department for Transport data suggests 75% of motorists are taking this risk.

“Even if an accident doesn’t occur, if drivers in Great Britain are caught speeding on these roads, they face a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100 and three penalty points on their licence if they exceed the limit by a marginal amount, or six points and a fine of up to £1,000 if they’re doing more than 41mph in a 30mph zone.

“If convicted, it is important to be honest and fully disclose the offence to your insurance provider, because failure to do so can result in the policy being invalidated, meaning you won’t be covered. 

“Some of our providers offer car insurance policies with competitive rates for convicted drivers which can help motorists find an affordable premium, but it probably goes without saying that the best way to keep your car insurance price low is to obey the speed limit in the first place.” 

Penalty points can add anything from 5% to 25% to your car insurance premium, depending on the number of points your licence has been endorsed with.

Recommended by 97% of reviewers, Quotezone.co.uk helps around 3 million users find better deals on their insurance every year, with over 400 insurance brands across 60 different products including niche items like telematics insurance and classic car insurance.

Speeding less acceptable than five years ago, new research reveals

New research from the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has revealed some positive long-term trends in relation to speeding behaviour in the UK with motorists now considering it less acceptable to speed than they did five years ago.

The findings come after recent provisional figures, released by the Department for Transport, highlighted that the number of UK road deaths was down significantly compared to the previous year due to less traffic being on the roads due to COVID-19.

IAM RoadSmart’s annual Safety Culture Report, which tracks drivers’ changing attitudes to key road safety issues over time, discovered that while there was a significant improvement towards speeding the figures were still worryingly high.

Out of the 2,000 motorists surveyed, 43 per cent (down from 55 per cent in 2016) thought it was acceptable to drive up to 80mph on a motorway and that 23 per cent (down from 28 per cent in 2016) thought it was acceptable to drive even faster than that.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy & Research, said: “While there are signs of improvement, the results of this survey are still deeply concerning and there is clearly much more work to do on education and training.

“Speeding consistently causes more than 4,400 casualties on UK roads each year, which is an average of 12 people a day killed or injured on UK roads.”

The vast majority of drivers find it unacceptable to speed in towns and this has remained basically unchanged in the last five years. However, a disconcerting one in five of those surveyed still think it is acceptable to drive five miles-per-hour over the speed limit on a residential street and nearly one in ten thought it was acceptable to drive at these speeds outside a school. 

Four in five motorists support crackdown on speeding outside schools

During Road Safety Week the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, is highlighting findings from its annual Safety Culture Study.

This has found that 82 per cent of the British driving public are in favour of using speed cameras to automatically fine drivers travelling more than ten miles per hour over the limit near schools.

However, the survey of 2,000 motorists went on to highlight that attitudes towards speeding on motorways were significantly different, with only 63 per cent of drivers supporting the use of cameras to detect those driving ten miles per hour above the limit on motorways.

Worryingly, it also identified that just under half of all motorists (46 per cent) think it is acceptable to drive at 80 miles per hour on the motorway, while as many as one in four believe it is acceptable to do so at speeds greater than 80 miles per hour.

And while acceptance of motorway speeding remained broadly consistent among drivers aged 17 to 69, there was a noticeable increase among those who travel longer distances. A staggering 56 per cent of those who cover more than 10,000 miles on the road each year believed it acceptable to reach speeds of 80 miles per hour or more on the motorway.

Neil Greig, Policy and Research Director at IAM RoadSmart, said: “It is reassuring to see that the majority of motorists we surveyed are in favour of using speed cameras to improve road safety outside schools. Speeding in towns may be universally disliked, but it is clear that we still have a long way to go before the same message gets through on motorways.

“Speeding causes more than 4,000 casualties each year on UK roads – that’s an average of 11 people a day killed or seriously injured. So it is extremely disappointing to see such apparent acceptance of speeding on motorways, and we need to do more to create a fundamental shift in attitude and behaviour here.”

Watch your speed!

Speeding is as much of a threat to road safety as drink and drug driving

  • 89 per cent of people believe speeding in a residential area is as much of a threat to their safety as driving under the influence of illegal drugs
  • More than one-in-10 motorists (14 per cent) admit to having driven at more than 10 per cent over the speed limit in residential areas
  • Nearly half of motorists believe it is acceptable to speed on motorways with a quarter admitting to driving at over 80mph
  • IAM RoadSmart is calling once again for speeding to become as socially unacceptable as drink and drug driving

The UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has renewed its call for speeding to become as socially unacceptable as drink and drug driving, after publishing worrying new analysis that indicates excessive speed is considered acceptable on the motorway and on residential roads by many drivers.

The survey found that despite more than one-in-10 drivers admitting to exceeding the speed limit of 30mph in residential areas, for almost nine out of every 10 motorists surveyed, speeding in a residential area was perceived as almost as big a threat to their personal safety as motorists driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol or when distracted by social media.

Almost half of motorists (46 per cent) surveyed believe it is acceptable to drive 10 miles per hour over the 70mph speed limit on motorways, with a quarter even willing to go even faster. More than one-in-five motorists (22 per cent) think it is acceptable to drive five miles per hour over the speed limit on a residential street.

An alarming one-in-10 of the 2,000 people surveyed thought it was even acceptable to go over the speed limit near a school.

Neil Greig, Policy and Research Director for IAM RoadSmart, said: “The results of this survey are deeply concerning. Speeding consistently causes more than 4,400 casualties on UK roads each year.  

“That’s an average of 12 people a day killed or injured in some form.  We need a fundamental shift in attitudes towards speeding so that it becomes as socially unacceptable as drink and drug driving – where public opinion has changed over previous decades.”

Further findings from the IAM RoadSmart survey also reveal the different attitudes towards speeding in the UK regions.

Motorists in Yorkshire and Humber (65 per cent), closely followed by motorists in the West Midlands (59 per cent) felt that the issue of speeding was more of a problem today than it was three years ago compared to a national average of 55 per cent.

More than a fifth of London drivers (21 per cent) think they drive faster than most others on the roads, compared to a national average of 13 per cent. Drivers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are more safety conscious while only eight per cent of Scottish and Northern Irish drivers and seven per cent of Welsh drivers rated their driving faster than others.

London was also the region with the highest number of drivers who felt it was acceptable to go five miles over the speed limit near a school, with 15 per cent of Londoners admitting to speeding near a school, compared to the national average of 10 per cent.  Drivers in the east of England are the most responsible motorists outside schools, with only five per cent rating it acceptable behaviour.

Motorists in the south-east of England are most likely (55 per cent) to find it acceptable to speed on the motorway by up to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, while there was less acceptability among the drivers of the West Midlands and Wales (at 43 per cent and 41 per cent respectively).

Meanwhile, drivers in Wales, where plans have received initial backing to cut the speed limit to 20mph in residential areas, not surprisingly, think it is least acceptable to speed in a residential area. 

Neil added: “There is a slight glimmer of hope as, overall, acceptability of driving 10 miles per hour over the speed limit on a motorway has dropped by around 10 per cent since 2016, but there is still a long, long way to go. 

Attitudes towards tackling urban speeding are much more positive and support for measures such as speed cameras around schools was very high at 82 per cent.  Overall, however, opinions on 20mph as the new urban limit are still finely balanced with 53 per cent for and 47 per cent against, which shows much work is needed to change deeply entrenched behaviour.

“The findings of this survey also highlight that drivers who responded had a lower opinion of other people’s driving behaviour than they had of their own. There needs to be much greater acceptance of the fact we can all improve our standards of driving behaviour and take action whenever we are on the road to improve road safety.”

To find read the full report please visit: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/media-and-policy/research-and-policy/research-details/driving-safety-culture-survey-2019

In Town, Slow Down

Campaign launched the day after Morningside toddler dies in road accident

New research reveals a very different post-lockdown landscape on Scotland’s roads and a potential rise in vulnerable road users, with 29% of people in Edinburgh committing to cycling and 75% planning to walk more as restrictions are eased.

Despite the rise in pedestrians and people on bikes, with varying levels of experience, the research highlighted 39% of drivers across Scotland haven’t changed their driving behaviour at all, while a staggering 83% did not slow down or approach junctions more cautiously during lockdown1.

Ninety six per cent of pedestrian casualties happen in built-up areas and you are seven times as likely to kill a pedestrian if you hit them at 30mph rather than at 203.  Almost half (49%) of pedestrian casualties happen at junctions and less than half of drivers (47%) look out for pedestrians at junctions.

This highlights how important it is, more than ever, for all road users to take greater care and consideration when travelling in built-up areas.

The findings of the survey by the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland (part of Transport Scotland) mark the launch of a campaign with a clear message for all road users: In Town, Slow Down.

The campaign will see powerful visuals highlight just how fragile we really are, with a series of people and scenarios such as, a mother with a pram, children and older people, depicted as eggs.  The creative shows each ‘egg’ in the path of much larger objects, including a brick and sledgehammer, all representing a different vehicle that could seriously injure or kill vulnerable road users.

Running across multiple channels including radio, digital advertising, outdoor, PR and social media, the campaign reminds drivers to consider other road users and drive at an appropriate speed in built-up areas.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson said: “We are committed to achieving safer road travel in Scotland for everyone and it’s important drivers travel at an appropriate speed for the environment and the conditions, especially in built-up areas where there are many vulnerable road users.

“Whether we drive, ride, wheel, cycle or walk, we need to look out for each other as our actions can have serious consequences. The message is simple, in town, slow down.”

Speed is a factor in crashes and the higher the speed, the greater the damage. And you don’t have to be breaking the limit to be going too fast.

Michael McDonnell director of Road Safety Scotland said: “Even one life lost on Scotland’s roads is one life too many. Now more than ever, it’s important for drivers to understand speed limits are there for a reason and often, even travelling at or near the limit may be too fast for the conditions.

“We want all drivers across Scotland to consider their actions and drive at an appropriate speed for the road conditions at all times. Drivers should also adopt the safest road position, keeping away from the kerb to give pedestrians and people on bikes space.”

Going too fast in town has severe penalties for drivers. The minimum fine for speeding is £100 plus three penalty points and a potential loss of licence when building up 12 or more points over three years. New drivers, in their first two years of driving, only need six points to lose their licence.

East Road Policing Area Commander, Chief Inspector Mark Patterson at Police Scotland, said: “As we enter the summer months and with more people making the most of using the road network by cycling and walking since coronavirus restrictions were introduced, it is important that drivers pay attention to what is happening on the road in front of them.

“We can’t predict what will happen on the road in front of us, and we are urging drivers to give other road users, such as cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, the space they need to be kept safe.

“Driving at appropriate speeds for the conditions – which includes other road users being present – is important and can reduce the chances of being involved in a crash. The speed limit should not be seen as a target, it is the maximum speed you should do and doesn’t mean you should sit at that speed if the network is busy with other road users.

“Pedestrians and cyclists should also be aware that roads will be busier and to cross at designated points as well as adhering to relevant parts of the Highway Code.

“There is room for everyone on our roads and we encourage all road users to show consideration and respect for the safety of each other. We all have a duty make our roads a safer place.”

For more information visit roadsafety.scot or check out the Road Safety Scotland Facebook and Twitter (@roadsafetyscot) pages.