Lawford Kidd's Blog

A new guide, which is aimed at reducing road traffic accidents in Scotland, has been published by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

The step-by-step guide, which will help councillors in Scotland to prevent road tragedies, was compiled after RoSPA joined forces with Transport Scotland.  Whilst the new guide is primarily aimed at local councillors, it can be used by anyone who wants more information about road safety and how to improve it.

According to the guide, three people still die and 37 seriously injured on Scotland’s road every single week. The risk of being involved in a road traffic accident is higher for some groups, including young drivers, older drivers, at-work drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, pedal cyclists and children.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has recently introduced a package of measures designed to change the way young people learn to drive.

Following this news, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called on the UK Government to take similar action and implement a package of reforms that would include:

• Introducing a 12 month minimum learning period.
• Developing a more structured syllabus.
• Introducing a restricted phase where there is a limit of the number of passengers a new driver can carry, the time of the day they drive and a lowering of the blood alcohol limit.

These are all critical components of a Graduated Driver Licensing scheme, which are designed to provide new drivers with driving experience and skills over a longer period of time.