Liaison Group on Road Accident Statistics



Liaison Group on Road Accident Statistics

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH PROJECTS

1. Seatbelt use survey 2009

Published March 2010

A Scottish survey of seatbelt usage was conducted in 2009 by TRL, as part of a collaboration with the UK Department for Transport. The last Scottish survey was carried out in 2002. Although not directly comparable, taken together these two surveys give some indication of current levels of seatbelt usage and change over time in Scotland. The latest survey measured observed levels of seatbelt compliance at 21 sites across vehicle type, occupant position, road type, speed limit, time of day and day of the week.

The findings show that rates for drivers in Scotland were observed to be 95% in 2009. The figures for front seat and rear seat passengers were 97% and 88% respectively (broadly similar to the rates observed in England). These figures suggest an increase in wearing rates for passengers compared with previous Scottish surveys, but that rates for drivers have not increased. The figures suggest a drop in the wearing rate for male drivers since the last Scottish survey - the only group for whom this is the case.

The wearing rates for car occupants in Scotland, as in previous surveys, were higher for females than males. Figures suggest that the wearing rates of car occupants observed in Scotland have increased for all age groups since the last survey in 2002, except for 30-59 year old drivers. The 2009 survey findings show that a higher rate (97%) of seat belt wearing amongst child passengers than in the 2002 survey (89%). Wearing rates for car drivers varied with road type. Rates were higher for car drivers on rural roads than urban roads. The wearing rates amongst other vehicle types (van, lorry and bus/coach/minibus) are lower than for occupants of cars. The wearing rate of bus, coach and minibus drivers was considerably lower at just over 20%.

The full report, including Scottish and English data, can be accessed on the DfT website.

Research Findings:

2. Review of Crash Magnets

Published November 2009

Crash Magnets is a road safety education resource designed for use with 14 to 17 year olds, developed by Road Safety Scotland. In 2009, the Crash Magnets resource had been in use for three years and Road Safety Scotland appointed ODS to review its use across Scotland. The review involved qualitative research with teachers and pupils in 12 case study schools and with Road Safety Units across Scotland.

Road Safety Officers were confident that all mainstream secondary schools had at least one copy of Crash Magnets. Almost all Road Safety Units offered training to teachers in using the resource, which was generally found to be helpful. However, some schools thought they did not have a copy of Crash Magnets or had not received training (which could be due to staff changes or training not reaching the right staff members). The Crash Magnets resource was not always distributed to special schools, colleges and youth groups and many schools were not aware of the online version. Just over half of the schools canvassed were using Crash Magnets, and the DVD was the most commonly used part of the resource. Pupils remembered Crash Magnets and responded well to the real life case studies. Teachers and Road Safety Officers were also positive about the content and topics covered in the resource. There were mixed views on the design of Crash Magnets: some liked the animation whilst others felt the cartoons were too juvenile for this age group. ODS concluded that Crash Magnets is a valuable resource and should be kept, but also recommended some improvements. In particular; making a new and more modern DVD with a more grown up design, more prominent teacher notes (with instructions for use, lesson plans etc) and coding activities by age group.

The full report is available on the RSS website at:

3. The three pronged approach – The Road Skills Mapping Exercise, The Review of Young Driver Interventions and the ‘Think Piece’ on Young Driver Interventions by Frank McKenna.

• A mapping exercise of all Young Driver Interventions (YDIs) that are currently being rolled out across Scotland was undertaken by Stephen Meredith who joined Road Safety Scotland on the inward internship programme. Information provided by all the Road Safety Units and community partners who develop and run YDIs was gathered and presented on an interactive web-map of Scotland in March 2010. This was accompanied by a booklet outlining the rationale of the exercise.

interventions/

• A review of the evaluations of YDIs was done by the Scottish Government’s Transport Analytical Services. This critiqued ten of the evaluations of these initiatives running in Scotland. It offers evidence of good practice, both from the Scottish YDIs reviewed and from abroad.

• A Think Piece study, drawing on the evidence provided by both of the above has been commissioned and is currently being completed by Professor Frank McKenna. The Think Piece, once completed, will provide the recommendations which will shape the development of a proposed Road Skills toolkit.

Further information on any of these projects or copies of the full reports (where applicable) can be obtained from:

Fran Warren

Research Officer

Transport Analytical Services

Scottish Executive

2D Dockside

Victoria Quay

Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ

Tel: 0131 244 7184

Frances.Warren@scotland..uk

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download