Brake, the road safety charity, has welcomed the announcement by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill that proposals to lower the limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg will be brought forward later this year.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is renewing its call on the government to make driving on rural A-roads a mandatory part of the driving test.
IAM research shows that 82% of rural fatal and serious casualties are on single carriageway roads compared with just 18% on motorways and dual carriageway roads.
However the current driving test fails to take this into account. While good instructors understand that experience on a wide variety of roads in different conditions gives young people the best chance of survival, all too many merely educate up to the existing test standard. Knowledge of parking, emergency stops and low speed manoeuvres is important but dealing with high speed corners, bad weather, and overtaking are far more vital skills.
The recent report from the IAM 'The fast and the curious', found that new drivers themselves felt unprepared for real life scenarios and would welcome extra help.
The IAM has written to the road safety minister to outline its views on how it believes the government should tackle deaths and accidents of the highest risk group on our roads, young drivers. This starts with improving the driving test to include training on our most dangerous roads – single-carriageway rural A-roads.
IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Driver and rider error is a contributory factor in two thirds of accidents. We can only improve our cars and roads so far. The challenge now is to improve the humans that drive them, to continue our outstanding record of road safety.”
The Court of Session has ruled that responsibility for a car crash that killed two people and severely injured a third was shared equally between two of the drivers involved, reports the Scotsman.
Thirteen-year-old Kaya McInnes survived the accident, which happened in the Highlands in 2007, but was so badly injured she needed to learn to walk again. It was recognised that she was entitled to compensation, however liability for payment was disputed between the insurance companies of the two drivers at fault.
The Court ruling means that both companies, Norwich Union and Axa, will both be liable to pay an equal share of the compensation. According to the Scotsman, the exact amount of money involved has not been revealed.
A recent survey by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line Car Insurance has revealed that one in nine young drivers (11%) has driven after taking illegal drugs in the past year.
The survey also found that 3% of young drivers (age 17-24) said they get behind the wheel after taking drugs once a month or more. Slightly more young drivers are admitting drug driving than four years ago, when one in eleven young drivers (9%) owned up to this potentially deadly behaviour.
Brake is calling for long-needed reform, including:
Young people who have lost loved ones in devastating young driver crashes are calling for action to tackle the biggest killer of people their age at the launch of Road Safety Week, coordinated by the charity Brake.
