A campaign has been launched to help cut rural road deaths after analysis of official figures showed the number of people killed on Scotland’s country roads is higher than on urban roads.
Scotland has more than twice the number of rural road deaths than on urban roads, and this week the UK’s leading rural insurer, the National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual, has launched a campaign designed to make rural roads safer for everyone.
Respecting Rural Roads in Scotland can reduce the annual toll of fatalities and serious injury says leading rural insurer the National Farmers Union (NFU Mutual) Mutual, the Department for Transport (DfT) and vulnerable road user groups.
The Respect Rural Roads campaign is supported by the DfT, British Cycling and the British Horse Society, and follows NFU Mutual’s analysis which found that in Britain between 2018-2020, more people lost their lives on rural roads (Britain 3,115 fatalities / Scotland 322 fatalities) than on urban roads (Britain 1,880 fatalities / Scotland 146 fatalities).
This is despite there being 36% fewer vehicles (9,833) on a stretch of Britain’s rural road than on an urban road (15,400) in a 24-hour period. During the same period, 2,588 were seriously injured on Scotland’s rural roads compared to 2,513 on Scottish urban roads.
15% of motorists in rural Scotland have been involved in a road accident
There may have been fewer vehicles on the roads, but cycling trips increased in Britain to record levels according to the DfT data – up 26% compared to 2019.
In Scotland, the number of rural cyclist fatalities in 2020 was the same as in 2019 (6) but higher than in 2018 (3). The number of serious injuries to cyclists on rural roads was 64 in 2020, 42 in 2019 and 45 in 2018.
On urban roads in Scotland, the number of cyclist fatalities in 2020 (5) was higher than in 2019 (2) and 2018 (3). Serious injuries to cyclists on urban roads in 2020 was 180, in 2019 the number reached 137 and in 2018 the number was 111.
Independent research commissioned by NFU Mutual found that 15% of Britain’s motorists living in rural areas (Scotland 15% or more than 1 in 10) had been involved in a collision on a rural road.
The survey found:
* 89% of people in Scotland believe road users need to understand how to behave and what to expect on rural roads
* 59% felt the main cause of collisions on rural roads was motorists going too fast and 6% blamed narrow roads.
For urban drivers:
* 26% of Scots felt less confident about driving on rural roads
* 25% found negotiating narrow roads was the most challenging aspect of driving on rural roads followed by drivers going too fast at 25%
*9 % had been involved in a collision on a rural road
We hope everyone using country roads will respect their unique hazards and dangers
Jade Devlin, Rural Roads Specialist for NFU Mutual said: “Independent research commissioned by NFU Mutual reported that for 85% of people living in the countryside of Scotland, rural road safety is an important issue for them.
“By raising awareness of the issue, we hope everyone using country roads will respect their unique hazards and dangers, and that our guidance will help people to put safety first.”