Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2015
The key point is that the figures are declining, which is a good point that we can all unite behind.
What concerns me is that fatality numbers are highest among young adults, who account for 22 per cent of fatalities on Scottish roads in the past five years despite the fact that 16 to 24-year-olds make up only one tenth of the total population.
As members will know, there is particular concern in the Highlands and Islands and in the north-east, where there is a disproportionately high death rate among young drivers.
The police tell me that—as Mike MacKenzie pointed out—speed is the biggest contributory factor to road casualties. More than half of the drivers who are killed die in collisions on country roads, and of course the risk of collision rises the faster a driver travels. For example, at 25 per cent above the average speed, a driver is about six times more likely to have a collision than a driver who is travelling at the average speed.
The direct cost of road accidents involving deaths or injuries in Scotland is approximately £3 billion a year but every pound spent on safety camera enforcement is a £5 saving to the emergency services.
Having been a driver myself for more than 40 years—and being a veteran of the A9 Inverness to Perth route in particular—I feel that I have some experience to offer the chamber with regard to this particular route.
Few issues have been raised as frequently by motorists in relation to the A9 as the previous 40mph speed limit for heavy goods vehicles. That is why, in December 2012, I jointly launched a campaign with HGV driver Conor McKenna to have a pilot increase of the speed limit for HGVs on the A9 from 40mph to 50mph.
My motivation in setting up the campaign was purely to try something different—to try something that would perhaps reduce driver frustration. My logic was that if HGVs travelled faster by 10 mph—at 50mph—all traffic would increase speed to an acceptable and appropriate level and there would be less of an inclination to carry out dangerous overtaking.
There is also quite an interesting climate change issue that Mr Stevenson might be interested in. The haulage industry tells me that an HGV being driven in a higher gear, at 50mph, emits less than an HGV being driven at 40mph in a lower gear. Therefore, there is a boost in relation to tackling climate change if HGVs increase their speed, which seems counterintuitive but is correct. Members will be aware that the pilot was introduced during October last year, along with the A9 average-speed cameras.
Since March 2010, I have been heavily involved in road safety at every opportunity. Alas, time does not allow me to talk about the graduated driving licence scheme, but I thank the Scottish Government, which has been very supportive in relation to that reserved issue. I have made attempts, by having meetings with United Kingdom ministers, to try to ensure that we introduce that scheme in Scotland. It would result in a reduction of 21 deaths among young drivers and a saving of £80 million. I would welcome the minister’s views on that in his closing speech.
I thank Mike MacKenzie for the opportunity to have this excellent debate and I congratulate him on the work that he does on road safety.
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