Meeting Minutes - Road Safety Framework Local Partnership Forum - East - 20 June 2024

In Attendance

  • Michelle Little (ML) (Chair) - Transport Scotland Road Safety Policy
  • Debbie Nicol (DN) - Road Safety Scotland
  • Katrina Caldwell (KC) - Transport Scotland Statistics
  • Craig Russell (CR) - Falkirk Council
  • Ross Drummond (RD) - Police Scotland
  • Euan Clayton (EC) - MAG
  • Gillian Kelly (GK) - Fife Council
  • Michael Grant (MG) - Area Safety Camera Manager
  • Marshall Greenshields (MGr) - East Lothian Council
  • Garry Haldane (GH) - Scottish Borders Council
  • Ian McCall (IMcC) - Paths for All
  • Ian Lennock (IL) - East Lothian Council
  • Steven Sellars (SS) - Fife Council
  • Simon Bradshaw (SB) - Cycling Scotland
  • Stuart Colbron (SC) - West Lothian Council
  • Philippa Gilhooly (PG) - Scottish Borders Council
  • Karen McDonnell (KM) - ScORSA
  • Andrew Thomson (AT) - Police Scotland
  • Ian King (IK) - East Lothian Council
  • David Morrison (DM) - Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
  • Stuart Cullen (SCu) - Clackmannanshire Council

Apologies

  • Alasdair Sim (AS) – Transport Scotland
  • Scott Irving (SI) - Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
  • Thomas Keay (TK) - Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
  • Dave Sinclair (DS) – City of Edinburgh Council
  • Iain McDonald (IMcD) – Clackmannanshire Council
  • Duncan Gardner (DG) – Falkirk Council 

Secretariat

  • Kieren Green (KG) – Transport Scotland Road Safety Policy

Agenda Item 1 - Welcome and Introductions & Previous Minutes and Actions

The Chair welcomed everyone to meeting and proceeded with round the table introductions.

The previous minutes were circulated and no comments received, these have since been published. All actions from the previous meeting were complete.

Agenda item 2 – SPB and OPG Summary

Both the SPB and OPG met recently with the following points highlighted;

  • The Cabinet Secretary for Transport chaired the SPB on 5th June.
  • The increase in casualties is concerning, and during the meeting the Cabinet Secretary emphasised that it’s now more important than ever to ensure that all road safety partners have a joined-up partnership buy in to the framework.
  • The Cabinet Secretary will have 1 to 1 meetings with all SPB members and liaise with government counterparts on road safety: Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Home Affairs, Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Local Government and Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care, along with Cllr Gail McGregor at CoSLA.
  • The Cabinet Secretary will also write to UK Government on matter stemming from Road Safety Summit: Graduate Driving License/ General Safety Regulation.
  • The OPG and SPB will now meet 4 times per year, due to increase in casualties.

Speed Management Review

The speed management review is nearing completion, it is intended that in the coming months a brief will be sent to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport to consider views on whether any changes to speed limit policies should be introduced as part of our speed management plan. Following this there will be stakeholder engagement and consultation.

Road Traffic Fatality Research

The Road Traffic Fatality report was circulated to the OPG to gain views on the delivery of the recommendations and countermeasures contain within the report. An action plan has been drawn up to monitor their delivery.

Recruitment is currently underway for a new analyst who will monitor additional data from the years 2016 onwards and create more specific reports , helping to identify patterns and creating focus where needed the most.

20 mph Implementation

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing 20mph speed limits on appropriate roads by the end of 2025. All councils have now submitted their road assessments, identifying the appropriate roads for a speed limit of 20mph.

Engagement with local authorities are ongoing to ascertain a programme for delivery and identify a breakdown of cost and support required.

Communication plans were developed and circulated to all road authorities to assist with the promotion of 20 mph and any FAQ’s, these can be accessed on the Road Safety Scotland Website.

Safe System Training

The Safe System Training and Capacity Building project is concluding this month, and Transport Scotland will share the work with all partners once finalised. This includes, an e-learning primer, data road map and Safe System Culture Playbook.

KG presented the e-learning primer to members, noting that work will continue on the Safe System Manual, which will see Scotland being the first county in the world to ever have one. Transport Scotland is looking to start the roll out the Safe System training to road safety partners this financial year, subject to budget being available.

Agenda Item 3 – Casualty Statistics for East of Scotland

An overview on the 2030 casualty reduction targets and intermediate outcome targets, including the localised statistics was provided to the group. The following points were highlighted for the East LPF;

  • Fatalities went up from 42 to 45 (7%)
  • 64% of fatalities were male and 36% female. With 44% of those being killed car users.
  • Those aged 40-49 and 70+ had the higher number of fatal’ s.
  • Total casualties dropped from 1,942 to 1,804 (7%)

The following was noted from a national perspective;

  • Fatalities dropped from 171 to 155 (9%)
  • Most of the fatal collisions were in Glasgow City (15), Highlands (14) and Fife (12)
  • Total casualties went up from 5,630 to 5,788 (3%) (third consecutive year of increasing)
  • 70+ has the most fatalities of any age group (38)

An overview was provided on the four national targets and five mode & user specific targets:

  • Target 1: Reduce fatalities by 50% - Not on track
  • Target 2: Reduce serious injuries by 50% - On track
  • Target 3: Reduce child fatalities by 60% - Not on track
  • Target 4: Reduce child serious injuries by 60% - Not on track
  • 40% reduction in pedestrians KSI - On track
  • 20% reduction in pedal cyclists KSI - On track
  • 30% reduction in motorcyclists KSI - On track
  • 20% reduction in 70+ KSI - On track
  • 70% reduction in 17-15 KSI - Not on track

SC added that it would be good to include the five year average into the stats given it can be difficult to gain a true reflection year on year.

The Chair emphasised the importance of remembering that each of these figures represents a love one which has been lost, and also noted the impact on the family and friends affected.

Many collisions can be attributed to driver behaviours, with the group discussing the best ways to tackle this. Only so much can be achieved through engineering and education also plays a fundamental role. However, this often slips down the agenda but is key in addressing behaviours on the road.

The National Speed Management Review analysis has been complete and will soon go for public and stakeholder consultation. However, DM noted that changing speed limits doesn’t necessary mean improved behaviour or compliance and highlighted the importance of education around this.

DN highlighted Road Safety Scotland recent campaign on fitness to drive. Advising members that all campaign resources are available on the Road Safety Scotland website for partners to use and share.

The importance of continued education was also discussed, with the group noting courses such as speed awareness, which can improve driver behaviour currently missing in Scotland. It was confirmed these are being progressed with the multi-agency working group being reestablished to look at their implementation.

The Chair also highlighted projects such as Rider Refinement and Driver Engagement North which are being used in other parts of Scotland to help educate different road users.

KG agreed to liaise with the Police Scotland lead for Driver Engagement North, which uses a simulator to help assess the behaviours of older road users, to establish if this could be brought to the East.

GK highlighted that Fife also run an older driver event in partnership with Road Policing and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. This is promoted on social media and offered to share information of this initiative with members.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have also been conducting various training and education initiatives. These have included the use of VR technology in school engagements, working in partnership to deliver car seat safety clinics and will also work in partnership with various organisations to deliver young driver road safety in Edinburgh. This will be deliver to over 2000 school pupils.

Action Point: To provide stats breakdown between trunk and local road and also include 5 year average- in collisions.

Action Point: KG to liaise with Police Scotland lead on Driver Engagement North and provide details to Ross Drummond.

Action Point: GK to share details of older driver event which runs in Fife.

Agenda Item 4 – Road Safety Updates

Cycling Scotland – Vulnerable Road User Awareness Training

SB delivered a presentation on the Highway Code research project which was funded through the Road Safety Evaluation Fund in 2023/24 and aimed to gauge public understanding of the Highway Code and recent changes designed to protect Vulnerable Road Users. The project was delivered in two parts; the first being a population survey questionnaire, and with the second analysing road user behaviour from video footage capturing interactions between people driving and people walking or cycling at junctions, taking into account the recent changes to the Highway Code. Key learning has been incorporated into Cycling Scotland’s training products.

Data from the public survey showed that whilst 3 in 4 drivers say they know the Highway Code well, only half are aware of changes introduced in 2022 and could correctly prioritise road users in the Hierarchy. The video survey data showed that people cycling were often given priority by people driving but, in contrast, in less than half of interactions were people driving observed to give priority to people walking either waiting to cross or already crossing side roads. Overall, the results show the importance of more effective communications to raise awareness of the Highway Code and promote safer road user behaviours. The full report can be accessed here.

The group commented the importance of having a national approach on the quiet roads/shared spaces highlighted in the presentation, as this is key to help assist in the public in the understanding. SC agreed, and suggested taking this to SCOTS to discuss further at their next meeting.

Further to this, there is a continued need to raise awareness of the Highway Code amongst all road users, including pedestrians, especially at junctions. A change in surface dressing is one of the tools engineers use to try and highlight a change in priority. However, feedback has been received where these have been used which shows there is still a lot of confusion about their purpose.

The Chair highlighted the use of ‘simple/continental zebra crossings’. Noting this is something that Transport Scotland is currently looking at and these will be discussed in further depth at the Vulnerable Road User key priority group.

Action Point: Chair/Secretariat to circulate Cycling Scotland presentation.

Action Point: SC to discuss shared space signage at future SCOTS meeting and report back at next meeting.

Agenda Item 5 – Road Safety Scotland Education and Activity

DN noted Road Safety Scotland’s key priorities for the next six months. Highlighting the following;

Learning Resources:

  • Ziggy activity for 24/25 will be finalised to include Ziggy competitions, run on social media throughout the year, for schools/ELCs to win a Ziggy visit. Partners will be notified when this year’s activity is confirmed.
  • ‘Road Safety within Curriculum for Excellence’ booklet will be updated for the new academic year and distributed to Early Learning Centres, and Primary and Secondary Schools in late August/September.
  • Work will continue on the development/renewal/promotion of the learning resources as outlined in 2-5 above.
  • Order for to order the Little Ziggy books will be distributed to ELCs and P1 classes in September. An order prompt will be posted on our Social Media channels at that time.

Publicity/Campaign Activity:

  • May – Sept - Drive on the Left and Motorbikes
  • June - Fitness to Drive exhibit PS at NHS event
  • July - Drink/Drug-Drive campaign to support PS activity
  • July - Exhibition with PS/SFRS/SCU at Festival of Motoring
  • September - Speed campaign in collaboration with Safety Camera Programme

Action Point: Chair/Secretariat to circulate Road Safety Scotland written update.

Agenda Item 6 – AOB and Next Meeting

KG advised that £10 million has been allocated to the Road Safety Improvement Fund for 2024/25. This will support local authorities in their aim to reduce casualties and risk on their network, through measures which align to the Safe System.

A series of webinars had been held with local authorities to assist in their RSIF application process and allocation letters will be issued soon.

The next meeting will take place in November, and a meeting invite will be issued in due course.

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Published Date 20 Jun 2024 Type Mode of transport Topic