Hansard

I thank all members who signed the motion and those who will speak in the debate.

As colleagues will know, road safety measures are a mix of reserved and devolved matters. The reserved matters include the training and licensing of drivers; the licensing of public service vehicle and goods vehicle operators; the construction and use of vehicles; road traffic offences; and vehicle licensing and taxation. Those that are devolved include the setting of national speed limits; road signs; the use of seat belts on school transport vehicles; and the promotion of road safety. The Scottish Government also has operational responsibility for trunk roads. I will come back to that point in a few moments.

I commend Brake for establishing road safety week in 1997 and for making it an annual event. Road safety is everyone’s business. Sadly, all members will be aware of incidents in our constituencies or regions in which someone’s life has been changed forever or, even worse, lost. Both those situations will be devastating for family and friends alike. When someone survives an accident, they may well have to face many challenges in future years. I pay tribute to every campaigner for road safety and road safety measures. In relation to campaigns about speed restrictions or road safety measures, any new policy implementation must be fully considered and, crucially, workable.

I pay tribute to and thank my friend and colleague Councillor Jim MacLeod from Port Glasgow—he does not know that I am talking about him today. He has been a councillor since 2007 and has been a long-term advocate for disabled rights. As a child, Jim was knocked down, which caused a spinal injury, and he has used a wheelchair ever since. One of his many campaigns has been on the issue of road safety in Inverclyde. Our streets and roads are safer as a result of his interventions. He has raised awareness among the local community through many articles in the Greenock Telegraph.

The issue of road safety measures will never go away. Indeed, it has become even more important with every passing year, as there are more vehicles on the roads. Life is stressful and, if we are honest, we will all know that there are occasions when we believe that we are the most important person on the road at that time. It is important for all of us to remember that, although a vehicle is a positive invention, it is a hulk of metal that can be a killing machine if used incorrectly.