“Scotland’s rate of road casualties should be treated as a public health emergency”

Transport Scotland’s Reported Road Casualties data for 2022 (released 24 May 2023) provides provisional figures on road casualties, including trends in recent years and progress towards the casualty reduction targets for the year 2030.

Commenting on the data, Stuart Hay, Director, Living Streets Scotland said:

“Following a reduction in the number of casualties during the periods of Covid restrictions, a ‘return to normal’ has involved a return to more than one death or serious injury to a pedestrian on Scotland’s roads every day of 2022 – this constitutes the largest rise in casualties for any category of road user. We are on course to miss our national targets for a 50% reduction in road collision deaths by 2030.

“Scotland’s rate of road casualties should be treated as a public health emergency. We need action to make sure all pedestrians can use our roads and footways safely and easily, such as the roll-out of 20mph limits in built up areas, measures to reduce overall vehicle traffic and an end to pavement parking.

“These statistics don’t capture injuries to pedestrians through trips and falls caused by the condition of the footways. We are concerned that this data isn’t available to those making decisions about regulation and infrastructure.

“Walking and wheeling are by far the main modes of active travel. We need government to have a focus on keeping pedestrians safe if we are to see a reduction in casualties, alongside the increase in walking needed to meet traffic reduction and emissions reductions targets.”