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The Scottish Executive Central Research Unit publishes a series of reports and research summaries based on road safety research which has been commissioned by the Department.
Research Reports which have been published since
the start of 1996 are detailed below. In addition, information about all the
Scottish Office-commissioned road safety research reports which were published
between January 1989 and August 1998, and about the research that was ongoing
in August 1998, is given in the "Review of the Scottish Office Road Safety
Research Programme 1989-97" (see below). Reports may be purchased
from:
The Stationery Office Bookshop
71 Lothian Road
Edinburgh EH3 9AZ
Tel: 0131 622 7050
FAX: 0131 622 7017
Cheques (made payable to "The Stationery Office") should be submitted with orders.
For each research project listed below (with the
exception of the "Review of the Scottish Office Road Safety Research Programme
1989-97" and the "Research on Walking"), copies of the Research
Findings (a short paper which sets out the main findings of the research
project), can be obtained, free on request, from:
The Scottish Executive Central Research Unit
Area 2J
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131-244 7560
"Review of The Scottish Office Road Safety Research Programme 1989-97"
This review describes and evaluates the contribution which road safety research has made to the work of The Scottish Office Development Department and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign. It provides a summary of research project details, including aims, findings, methodology and costs. It provides a reference source for road safety practitioners and policy-makers on the body of road safety research carried out under the Development Department’s research programme.
1997 price £ 2.50
"The Deterrent Effects of Enforcement in Road Safety"
This research examined the deterrent effects of enforcement in comparison to other influences on individual drivers’ behaviour in respect of a range of driving offences. It found that enforcement has a different deterrent effect according to the type of offence; for drink and dangerous driving it has a strong effect, but for speeding the effect is very limited. The research showed that drivers regard speeding as having very little associated risk, either in terms of getting caught or being involved in an accident.
1997 price £ 5
"Impact of the Road Network on Scotland’s Accident Rates"
This statistical analysis using a digitised dataset of accidents, traffic flow counts and network variables explored the hypothesis that Scotland’s higher severity rate is caused by variations in the distribution of network characteristics between Scotland and England/Wales. It found that 60% of the severity difference in accidents in non-built up areas between the countries is accounted for in terms of traffic flow, proximity to junctions and road type. Non-network factors such as differences in weather and light conditions and response time of emergency vehicles may explain part of the residual 40% difference.
1997 price £ 7.50
"The Effectiveness of Leaflets in Road Safety"
The research examined the effectiveness of leaflets as a means of disseminating information on road safety and the role played compared to other road safety campaigns media. Two very different types of leaflet were examined - one aimed at parents of nursery/primary-aged children, the other at drivers and road users in general. The study found that there was a high level of awareness of the children’s leaflets and that two-thirds of those who had seen the leaflets said they had been prompted to speak to their child about road safety as a direct result. Moreover, 85% of those who had seen the leaflet had kept it, suggesting that they saw it as a useful resource. The leaflets aimed at drivers and general road users were much less well-received and there was confusion as to who they were aimed at and criticism of the style and presentation. The effectiveness of these leaflets was however undermined by the postal method of distribution, which risked association with ‘junk mail’.
1998 price £5.00
"Seat Belt Wearing in Scotland - A Study on Compliance"
This study was commissioned to obtain a reliable measure of the extent of seat belt wearing in Scotland by car, taxi and light van occupants. The study found that 86% of vehicle occupants used an appropriate restraint - 91% for cars, 50% for vans and 26% for taxis. There were differences between car occupants’ use of restraint according to seating position, with 94% of drivers, 92% of adult front seat passengers and 55% of adult rear seat passengers using seat belts. In addition to rear seat passengers, front seat male passengers aged between 14 and 59 and male drivers in the 17 to 29 age range had relatively low compliance rates. The rate for children aged between 5 and 13 years who were restrained in the rear seat of cars was 74%.
1998 price £5.00
"Alcohol and the Pedestrian Road Casualty"
This study was commissioned to investigate the relationship between pedestrian casualties and alcohol consumption in Scotland. The study involved the collection of data by hospital staff on all road accident casualties attending A & E Depts in 5 large Scottish hospitals. The study found that of all road traffic casualties, 9% had evidence of alcohol consumption. This rises markedly amongst pedestrians where nearly a third (31%) of all pedestrian casualties had consumed alcohol, the majority of whom were male (87%). Findings showed that pedestrians in the 40-49 age group show an increased risk of being involved in an accident if alcohol is involved, and pedestrians who had been drinking were more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital than those who had not been drinking.
1998 Price £5.00
"The Older Child Pedestrian Casualty"
This study was commissioned to explore the patterns of casualties amongst older child pedestrians in Scotland in particular, with a view to informing road safety campaigns. A detailed examination of STATS 19 data for 1994-96 found that the pedestrian casualty rate for boys is consistently higher than for girls across all age groups; as girls get older they account for an increasing share of accidents; the school journey is a significant factor affecting the child casualty rate, with the proportion having an accident on the school journey rising from 24% for the younger age group to 38% for the older age group. Child pedestrian casualties peak between 3 and 4pm and child accidents drop during July in the school holidays. The transition from primary to secondary school, when distances travelled to school increase, appears to be a vulnerable time.
1998 Price £5.00
"The Young Teenager and Road Safety: A Qualitative Study"
This qualitative study of young teenagers’ road use behaviour was commissioned to complement the statistical study on ‘The Older Child Pedestrian Casualty’. A total of 10 focus groups at four schools in Edinburgh and East Lothian were conducted, involving 63 young people between the ages of 12 and 15. The groups were segmented on the basis of age, sex and the level of affluence of the school area. The research found that young teenagers frequently engage in ‘common risk’ behaviour but recognise the dangers of such behaviour. Road safety knowledge among this age group is high, but application of knowledge is low. The study concluded that young teenagers are in general not interested in road safety education, viewing it as ‘boring’ and ‘repetitive’. Young people felt that ‘shock tactics’ were the only way of impacting on their behaviour. It was recommended that, when targeting this group, road safety campaigns should focus on real-life approaches, stressing both the short and long-term impact of suffering a pedestrian road accident.
1998 Price £5.00
"Evaluation of Road Safety Workbook Diaries"
Diaries issued by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign to all primary schools in Scotland were evaluated during 1997/98. The Diaries are designed to prompt regular road safety into the primary curriculum and are produced for 3 age bands in primary schools. The evaluation involved both a large-scale survey of primary schools and interviews with teachers and groups of pupils in 10 primary schools. The research concluded that the Workbook Diaries are a road safety education resource which has high credibility with teachers and is attractive to children. The survey found that 94% of schools receiving the Diaries used them; 76% regarded the Diaries as an important part of the road safety education programme, and over 70% of teachers rated the Diaries as good or very good in terms of attractiveness, interest for pupils, relevance to road safety, the appropriateness of the activities and ease of use for teachers.
1998 Price £5.00
"Research on Walking"
As part of a research project on walking patterns and attitudes to walking in Scotland, over 600 households representative of Scotland were asked about their children’s travel patterns to school. The majority of children (58%) lived within a mile of their school; 63% walked to school, 21% travelled by bus or train and 15% by car. Primary school children were more likely to walk (68%) than secondary (54%). The main reason given for children walking to school was that it was the most convenient way of getting there (71%), and reasons for not walking were that it was too far (66%), concern about personal safety (13%), concern about road safety (13%) and time pressures in the morning (11%). The action cited as being most likely to encourage children to walk to school was a special ‘Safe Route to School’.
1999 Price £5.00
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