Buddies steering away from danger

Jul 1 2011 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

FEWER people are dying on Renfrewshire’s roads, the Paisley Daily Express can reveal.

New figures released by Transport Minister Keith Brown show that road safety messages appear to be hitting home after Renfrewshire followed Scotland’s lead by recording its lowest figures for traffic casualties since records began.

The provisional statistics for last year show that two people died in Renfrewshire last year as a result of one tragic accident.

That’s down from the average figure of 11 deaths in nine fatal crashes each year between 1994 and 1998.

The number of serious crashes which resulted in victims being taken to hospital and surviving for at least 30 days also dropped from the yearly average of 157 back in the late 1990s to just 64 last year.

And the total number of accidents on local roads also decreased from an average of 758 a year to just 414 in 2010.

In neighbouring East Renfrewshire, just one fatal accident was recorded last year – down from average yearly figures of six fatalities between 1994 and 1998.

Compared to 2009, the reported number of deaths on roads across Scotland as a whole fell by four per cent to 208 last year, with the number of serious injuries falling by 14 per cent to 1,960.

Mr Brown welcomed the findings from the 2010 Key Reported Road Casualty statistics but stressed that more can still be done to make our roads safer.

He said: “This is a welcome reduction in the number of fatalities and casualties on Scotland’s roads, continuing the downward trend witnessed in recent years.

“We have exceeded GB road safety targets to reduce deaths and serious injuries to the end of 2010 by a considerable margin.

“However, even one death on Scotland’s roads is unacceptable and we remain committed to achieving further reductions, as demonstrated by the establishment of the first-ever Scottish road safety targets.

“My vision is for there to be no road deaths and we will continue to work towards that ultimate goal, in tandem with the road safety community in Scotland.”

Chief Constable Kevin Smith, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), added: “I welcome these encouraging figures, which demonstrate that our partnership approach to casualty reduction is working.

“Through the Scottish Road Safety Partnership Board, all police forces are working closely with colleagues in many organisations to identify and progress measures to reduce the number of people killed or injured on our roads.

“We are proud of what we have achieved but we are not complacent.

“Across Scotland, thousands of people are caught every year not wearing a seatbelt and the results from our summer campaign show that there are still people willing to risk their lives and the lives of others by driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. Tackling these issues continues to be our priority.

“In terms of enforcement, we believe that legislation to make certain seatbelt offences endorsable and a reduction in the drink-drive limit would contribute further to reducing the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.

“Through these measures and by continuing with our joint approach to road safety and casualty reduction, I am confident we can make Scotland’s roads even safer.”