“Deeply troubling” increase in deaths on Scotland’s roads

Transport Scotland has released provisional headline figures for road casualties reported to the police in Scotland in 2016. They show 191 people were killed in reported accidents in 2016 – 23 more than in 2015.

Commenting on the news, Jason Wakeford, spokesman for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “Today’s figures are deeply troubling. It’s shocking to see more fatalities on Scotland’s roads last year, and more children, cyclists and motorcyclists needlessly losing their lives.

“Today’s statistics show that, while progress is being made toward some of the 2020 Scottish Road Safety Framework targets, there is far more work to be done.

“We must strive for a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads. We urge the Scottish Government to implement a default 20mph limit in built up areas, accompanied by additional speed enforcement on roads by the police.

“Brake is also calling on the European Commission to urgently update new vehicle safety standards and the UK Government to set up a Road Collision Investigation Branch. Understanding and collating the details of individual road crashes and the circumstances that led to them is critical, to enable lessons to be learned and help prevent future deaths across the country.”