FIRST WEEK FIGURES
Over 14 percent of all persons breath-tested in road accidents in Scotland last
week, provided a positive sample.
This startling figure reveals the stark truth behind drink-driving on Scotland's roads, that 1 in 7 people breath-tested as a result of being involved in a road collision were over-the-limit. Figures released on Monday 17 July 2000, for the first week of the Scottish Summer Safety Campaign, where all eight Police Forces in Scotland target the three main causation factors of injuries in road accidents, show that drink-driving, speeding and non-compliance of seat-belt wearing are as widespread as ever.
Of the 393 motorists who were required to provide a sample of breath as a result of being involved in road collisions, 56 or 14.3 percent were positive. The total number of injury collisions in the first week of the Scottish Summer Safety Campaign was 146. Every Police Force in Scotland is also targeting those motorists who risk their own lives and the lives of others by driving at inappropriate or excessive speed. Figures for the first week of the campaign show that speeding is down by nearly 24 percent on last year's number of 5,032. A total of 3,846 drivers were detected speeding on Scotland's roads last week, with 2,671 or 69.4 percent of those detected on roads with a 30mph speed limit. Around 69 percent of drivers were detected speeding on roads in built-up areas, and officers will continue to target areas where pedestrians and other motorists are most vulnerable, such as near shops and licensed premises.
Motorists and passengers who travel in vehicles without being properly restrained and who risk injuring themselves if involved in a road accident, have also been detected by police in the first week of the Scottish Summer Safety Campaign. A total of 2,283 people were detected travelling in vehicles without wearing a seatbelt, a slight decrease of 1.6 percent on last year's first-week figure. Drivers accounted for 83.4 percent of all those detected driving without wearing a seatbelt and children accounted for 1.5 percent of the total number.
Police officers on patrol throughout Scotland have also detected a number of
motorists committing other Road Traffic offences. Officers in Dumfries detected
a 17-year-old youth speeding and discovered that he did not hold a driving licence
and consequently had committed a number of Road Traffic offences. A 31-year-old
motorcyclist was detected driving at 101mph on the A96 Forres to Inverness Road
and a second speeding motorcyclist was detected travelling at 109.5mph on the
A94 by Tayside Police.
Another motorcyclist was detected breaking the speed limit on four separate
days at a similar time and location by the Lothian & Borders Police camera
unit.
Mr William Spence, Chief Constable of Tayside Police and Chairman of the ACPOS Road Policing Standing Committee, said: -
"I find it quite alarming that of the 393 people that were breath-tested as a result of being involved in road accidents, over 14 percent provided a positive sample. This statistic is very high and I am shocked that 56 people who were involved in road accidents were also over-the-limit.
"Officers will continue to detect those motorists who drink and drive by way of general road patrols and intelligence-led targeting of road users.
"Although police aim to educate motorists on the dangers of irresponsible driving such as drink-driving, speeding and travelling without wearing a seatbelt, officers are also encouraging motorists to become responsible drivers and be more aware of their own driving behaviour and that of others. In the past week, there has already been a number of fatal road accidents in Scotland, and although they may not have been directly related to the three factors that police are specifically targeting in this campaign, motorists may have been driving irresponsibly.
"We need to change people's driving behaviour, and until we achieve that, there will still be fatal road accidents in Scotland. The Police in Scotland will continue in their sustained effort to reduce road accidents through education and enforcement, but the motorist needs to be more responsible and consider the consequences of poor driving behaviour.
"Whilst this is a Summer campaign, police enforcement continues 365 days of the year. I hope that the message continues to be observed every single day of the year."