Accident Claims & Personal Injury Lawyers Scotland Blog

More than half of drivers (53%) are risking deadly pile-ups on motorways by driving too close to the vehicle in front, according to research by Brake and Direct Line. More drivers are taking this deadly risk compared to seven years ago (49%), and men are far more likely to do it than women, with a horrifying three in ten male drivers (30%) doing so at least weekly.

In Great Britain in 2010, 263 people were killed and 1,445 seriously injured in road crashes on motorways and 70mph roads.

While there are fewer crashes per mile travelled on motorways, crashes on these roads have an increased risk of death or serious injury because of the speeds involved. Crashes on 70mph roads are more than twice as likely to result in death than crashes on roads with lower speed limits.

Almost one in five fatal crashes on motorways involve four or more vehicles. These kinds of crashes often cause multiple deaths and injuries, and the resulting congestion and tailbacks can cause further crashes.

Provisional figures released by the Department for Transport confirm that 1,690 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured in July to September 2011.

This means 18 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured every day between July to September 2011 - an increase of 2% compared to the same period in 2010 when 1,652 were killed or seriously injured.

While all casualties among car users have reduced by 7%, the figures for motorcyclists have remained stagnant. Around 5,630 motorcyclists were injured between July to September 2011, compared to 5,666 in the same period of the previous year (a 0.64% decrease).

The Institute of Advanced Motoring director of policy and research, Neil Greig, said: “The increase in motorcycling casualties is worrying especially while casualties among car drivers continue to fall. The government needs to ensure that education campaigns targeting motorcycling continue and funding is made available for local initiatives. The police and councils must continue to work together to improve high risk routes, encourage post test training and target bad riding behaviour through innovative enforcement techniques.”

Members of the public and young people in particular are being urged to take a zero tolerance approach to drink-driving this festive season to help prevent devastating Christmas tragedies.

As the festive party season approaches the road safety charity Brake has welcomed a police crackdown on drink and drug drivers. 

A health and safety body is urging the Government to incorporate work-related road traffic accidents into official statistics. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) made the call on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Lawford Kidd's Derek Carrigan has recently settled a road traffic accident claim, with the global settlement for the six pursuers amounting to £700,000. This is one of the most significant settlements following the commencement of the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011, which came into force earlier this year on 7 July 2011.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for more to be done to improve road safety in a message issued in advance of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which is to be observed on 20th November.

Europe’s largest organisation of engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), says the loss of focus brought about by the removal of road safety targets could lead to more road traffic accidents in different parts of the country.

Road safety charity Brake has welcomed Government proposals to create a new criminal offence of 'causing serious injury by dangerous driving'. Those convicted of the offence could spend up to five years in jail.

A health and safety body has urged employers to do more to reduce the worrying number of work-related road traffic accidents (RTA).

Scotland's Chief Statistician has announced the release of Key Scottish Safety Camera Statistics 2010. This publication reports statistics relating to road traffic casualties and offences at safety camera sites (speed cameras and red-light cameras) in Scotland.

The latest figures released by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) have shown that the message to motorists about the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs does not appear to be getting through.

Motorists are being warned to insure their vehicles ahead of a new crackdown to tackle the menace of uninsured driving and reduce the number of road traffic accidents.