Road Safety in the Scottish Borders

Over the five year period 2002 and 2006 on average:

613 people are injured each year in road accidents in the Borders (51 children).
116 fatal and serious injuries (10 children) each year.

Road safety directly involves all road users – virtually the entire population. It is a complex issue encompassing a diverse range of problems and solutions. Roads are one of the most dangerous environments in which the majority of people will ever operate, yet they feel relatively safe and society accepts a higher casualty rate than for other forms of transport or environment.

Road traffic accidents do not have a single cause. They result from a number of contributory factors that combine in a way that leads to a road user failing to cope in a particular situation.

The main factor is human error.

Scottish Borders Road Safety Working Group

In 2006 the Scottish Borders Road Safety Working Group was established which brought together partner agencies representing engineering, enforcement and education to develop a more joined-up and active approach to the issue of road safety

The aim is to reduce the number of road accidents on borders road by the following;

Raise and maintain public awareness of road safety issues.
Research, analyse and monitor the reasons for road accident casualties in the Scottish Borders.
Develop strategies to address key road safety problems.
Co-ordinate road safety activity in the Scottish Borders so as to maximise the effectiveness of initiatives.
Contribute towards achievement of the Scottish Government's targets for casualty reduction by the year 2010 (and subsequent targets for 2020).
Evaluate road safety activities to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources.

The 2010 targets

The current Government targets for 2010 targets provided an ambitious challenge for everyone:

Based on the average for 1994-1998, the 2010 targets seek to achieve:

a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured
a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured
a 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres.

Whilst progress to achieve this target across Scotland has been very encouraging, the same cannot be said for the Scottish Borders. At the end of 2006 the latest five year average figures for 2002-2006 compared with the 1994 -1998 baseline reveals significant differences (Source: Road Accidents Scotland 2006 (latest figures available).

2010Target	Scottish Borders 2002-2006 compared with 1994-1998 baseline average	Scotland 2002-2006 compared with 1994-1998 baseline average
40% reduction in the number of killed or seriously injured	1% increase	35% decrease
50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured	11% increase	32% decrease
10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, (the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres).	13% decrease	23% decrease