ROAD SAFETY FRAMEWORK STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BOARD Tuesday 5 February 2013, 10:00, Conference Rooms 7 and 8, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh Minutes Attendees Keith Brown MSP Minister for Transport and Veterans (agenda item 7) David Middleton Chief Executive, Transport Scotland (Chair) William Munro Aberdeenshire Council, Representative for Society of Local Authority Chief Executives Andy Duff Senior Engineer Traffic, Moray Council Michael McDonnell Director, Road Safety Scotland, Transport Scotland Tom Ewing Temporary Deputy Chief Constable, Chair of ACPOS Road Police, Fife Police (agenda item 5) Craig Clement Association of Directors of Education Scotland David Goodhew Assistant Chief Officer, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Neale Kinnear Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) (agenda item 8) Ian Logan COPFS George Eckton Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Bob Muir Safety Camera Programme, Transport Scotland Katherine Goodwin Strategic Marketing, SG (agenda item 6) Alan Crawford Senior Occupational Health & Safety Advisor, SG (agenda item 9) Karen McDonnell Director, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Scotland (agenda item 9) Hugh Gillies Jill Mulholland Graham Thomson Head of Development Management and Strategic Road Safety, Transport Scotland Unit Head, Road Safety Policy, Blue Badge, MACS/PVS, Transport Scotland (agenda item 4) Team Leader, Transport Accessibility and Road Safety Team Secretariat Mike Berry Mary Ward Road Safety Framework Manager, Transport Scotland Road Safety Policy Officer, Transport Scotland Apologies Donald Carmichael Director, Transport Policy, Transport Scotland Donald Henderson Head of Public Health Division, Scottish Government Peter Connor Director, Scottish Ambulance Service Professor David Stone Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology, Glasgow University 1. Welcome, Introductions and Apologies 1.1 The Chair welcomed members to the meeting. 1
2. Approval of minutes of Joint Strategic Partnership Board / Operational Partnership Group Meeting on 25 September 2012 2.1 Members were content with the minutes. 3. Draft Road Safety Framework Annual Report 2012: Distribution to Members 3.1 The Annual report was distributed in hard copy to members, with an electronic copy due to follow. Key achievements have included: Lowest road casualty figures since records began. New powers under the Scotland Act: drink driving limits and speed limits. Drink driving campaign during winter. Demonstration of impressive partnership working between Scottish Government (SG) and local partnerships Aberdeenshire Council won UK award for its road safety work. Black box pilot partnership. City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) 20 mph zone pilot. Action 1: Mike Berry to distribute an electronic copy of the Annual Report to Board members. 3.2 In relation to the achievements highlighted in the Annual Report, Tom Ewing noted the importance of partnership working. Local and regional stakeholders in England have commented on the absence of this, particularly in terms of engagement with DfT. 4. Proposal to reduce frequency of meetings 4.1 Jill Mulholland noted that the leadership role of the Board was key, but that this could still be achieved if the Board changed from three meetings to two meetings per annum. The proposal would be to have the AGM once a year plus a joint meeting with the OPG in the year ahead. There would be opportunities for ad hoc meetings and members should contact MB to arrange when appropriate. 4.2 Jill chairs the Road Safety Forum. Feedback from the Forum indicates a desire for greater local engagement from Government. The Annual Report reflects the level of activity across Scotland. Action 2: the Board agreed that it should work to a reduced schedule of 2 meetings per year. 5. Update on ACPOS Drink-Drive Campaign - presentation by Tom Ewing 5.1 Tom explained the content of his update paper on the festive drink-drive campaign. The experiences of officers during the campaign show that we still have a serious problem in Scotland with drink-driving. However, statistics show the situation is improving, and drink-driving is becoming socially unacceptable. 2
5.2 The Festive Drink-Drive Media Campaign had been launched during the consultation period for the proposed reduction of the drink-drive blood alcohol limit. Uncertainty over timing of the consultation and implementation of proposed change has affected planning of media campaigns. Increased numbers of calls from the public reporting drink drivers may reflect changing public attitudes. 5.4 Young driver statistics are a concern, which may indicate a need for a greater focus on this group. There was a discussion on behaviour change. It was considered that the use of shock in campaigns is less likely to work than other methods. There was a need to increase the risk of being caught and to make the penalties more severe. 5.6 There was also some discussion of issues relating to morning after drinkdrivers, such as the varying amounts of time taken for the effects of alcohol to wear off. Figures on these offences suggest there may be different trends in ages, that young people are out later and that there are social changes. If that is so, then this might affect how we present statistics in the future. More age-related data on drinkdrivers might also be useful. It was acknowledged that most people do not intend to drink and drive, but that sometimes circumstances lead them to it. We need the public to plan proactively and use public transport, designated driver or other alternative means to travel. It is incumbent on all of us to do a risk assessment. We should support this via media campaigns promoting travel-line. 5.8 Discussion then focussed on campaign strategy, which is currently based on a zero tolerance approach. In terms of enforcement, some Members commented that random stop and test powers would be helpful. At present we do not have full data on drivers stopped and tested, including negative as well as positive breath tests. This, and other information, will hopefully become available as and when new data-enabled testing equipment comes into use alongside the planned change in the drink-driving blood alcohol limit. 5.9 There then followed a short discussion on the psychological aspects of drinkdriving. Members considered that it was important to be able to track attitudes and behaviours before and after campaigns. Police Reform: Update From Tom Ewing 5.10 The new Police Service of Scotland, led by Chief Constable Stephen House, goes live on 1 April 2013. There will be a new, flatter management structure for the single force. There will be 14 divisions incorporating a number of local authority areas to form a brigade structure. A division of road police patrol group comprised of 40-50 dedicated road police officers will operate between 07:00 to 02.00-03:00 hours. The Trunk Road Patrol Group (TRPG) will operate nationally on a 24/7 basis. The TRPG will also support road safety colleagues. 5.11 Superintendent Ian Murray will be Head of Road Policing in Scotland There is a desire to get this implemented during the first week of March this year to ensure as smooth as transition as possible prior to 1 April 2013. There was some 3
discussion of the future of road safety education within the context of the new structure. This issue has not yet been finalised. 5.12 Tom Ewing will be retiring at the end of March 2013. This being Tom s final Board meeting, the Chair thanked Tom for his work on the Board and conveyed, on behalf of the Board, that we would be sorry to see him go. The Board looked forward to working with Ian in the future. (We have since been advised that Tom s place on the Board will be taken by ACC Bernard Higgins. Fire and Rescue Service Reform 5.13 David Goodhew gave an update on the changes being implemented within the Fire and Rescue Service, and the resultant new structure. There will be a transitional phase, and then a Fire Board will be established through ministerial appointment. There is a new Strategic Leadership (a Chief, a Deputy and five Assistants). There will be three operational hubs in Scotland with 17 Local Senior Officer (LSO) areas. This will have operational functions, and there will be a standard approach to delivery of services. This process will take a few years to level out and achieve the right resources. By 2015-16 there will be an amalgamation to two operational hubs. Action 3: DG to forward the new Fire and Rescue Service structure to Board members. 6. 2013 Campaigns (Speed and Drink-Drive) - presentation by Katherine Goodwin 6.1 KG advised that the campaign budget for 2013-14 has still to be approved. A new behaviour change campaign will be launched on 4 March. This will have a wellknown and respected celebrity to front it. Social media partners can also help to get the message out. There will also be a campaign focussing on parental influence and its effect on young people and the type of drivers they become. This is a ground breaking approach which takes a long-term view. The messages from this dovetail with the SG Early Years Strategy and the Smarter strategic objective. 6.3 There will be a drink drive campaign likely to be launched during Autumn 2013 as we have a duty to let the public know about the change in drink drive limits (reduction from 80 mg to 50 mg). This will be a public information and behaviour change campaign. This will move from a focus on self-risk assessment to a can t drink and drive approach, as people need to be aware that they can t drink at all before they get into their car. 7. Review of 2012 and Challenges for 2013 - presentation by Keith Brown MSP 7.1 The Minister s address to Members covered a number of issues where there had been progress during 2012. He noted the passing of the Scotland Act and the powers it had devolved, and commented that the proposed lower drink-drive limit would be likely to save lives. Whilst there were no current plans to change speed limits, it was important to be in control of our own policy on these important matters. 4
The Minister also spoke about the needs of vulnerable road users. On 2 January 2013 an additional 3.9 million for cycling projects had been announced; this wasin addition to the 6 million announced last September, a total of 9.9 million. Over this and the next two years, a total of 58 million will be invested in cycle infrastructure, cycle training and road safety messages, through grants to local authorities and, Sustrans and Cycling Scotland. The Minister also mentioned the need to encourage further implementation of 20 mph zones. In this regard he commented that Transport Scotland was assisting City of Edinburgh Council with the evaluation of its 20 mph zone pilot scheme. 7.2 In addition the excellent work of Road Safety Scotland had continued throughout 2012, addressing amongst other issues the issue of inappropriate speed on rural roads. Ensuring the safety of young drivers remained a key issue. There was clear and unambiguous evidence to show that Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) reduces the crash rate for young drivers, but we do not currently have the powers in Scotland to bring in GDL. The Minister had written to the UK Government towards the end of last year, asking that they look again at options for a UK Graduated Driver Licensing scheme. Copied of that letter were passed to Board Members. In response to this letter the Transport Under-Secretary, Stephen Hammond indicated that they were now looking at this issue. The Minister thanked all of the Members of the Board for the excellent work they had done during the past year, as well as putting on record his appreciation for the work of the OPG during the same period. Discussion: GDL 7.3 There followed some discussion on GDL. Members were advised that DfT were interested in telematics to support GDL and reduce insurance costs. Andy Duff informed the Board that SCOTS (Ewan Wallace) is preparing a letter of support on GDL which they will shortly send to the Minister. 7.4 Members were in favour of GDL but were also aware that young people would be resistant to GDL. However, it was acknowledged that some aspects of GDL might be beneficial to young drivers which might help to sell it eg, the possibility of lower insurance costs was mentioned. The issue however was not just about young driver but more generally new drivers. GDL gives out an important message as it has conditions as well as restrictions. 8. TRL Review of A Guide to Improving School Transport Safety - presentation by Neale Kinnear 8.1 A Guide to Improving School Transport Safety and an accompanying report were published by Transport Scotland and SCOTS in December 2010. This review was undertaken to consult with representatives from each of the 32 councils in Scotland in order to gain an understanding of how the guide and report have been used since their publication. Neale outlined the process and the challenges encountered, and presented his conclusions: Two important issues were identified via the recruitment process: No consistency between councils regarding school transport provision 5
Shared responsibility can lead to a diffusion of responsibility between departments and agencies Problems with the dissemination of the guide were highlighted by some council representatives. Some who had seen the guide considered that they were already fulfilling the recommendations. For the remainder of respondents, the guide is generally seen as useful and is mainly used as a reference document. Very few changes to the provision of school transport were described as being directly facilitated or informed by the guide although there is evidence that the guide indirectly supports or promotes consideration of new schemes. Several barriers to implementing the recommendations were identified. Suggested improvements to the guide included making it more interactive and sharing experiences within and between councils. In general, respondents were enthusiastic about the prospect of attending workshops, although logistics and cost were potential barriers. Councils that rely on SPT for school transport provision expect them to enforce signage standards with transport providers. Other councils generally attempt to write minimum standards into their school bus contracts and undertake spot checks. 8.2 The Board then discussed the safety of school transport. It was suggested that, as this is a council-wide responsibility, it should not necessarily be restricted to one contact point. There had been a difficulty in identifying the appropriate department to engage with. Members thought there might be value in a workshop where local authorities could share best practice. There was also a suggestion that it would help if local authorities were asked to do a self-evaluation of their school transport safety planning identifying gaps and issues before the workshop took place. Action 4: Mike Berry / Michelle Campbell to liaise with Willie Munro / Craig Clement in order to engage with local authorities about self-evaluation of their school transport safety planning. 9. Drivers at Work: SG MORR Policy presentation by Alan Crawford 9.1 Alan explained the process he went through to put in place and implement a MORR policy for the Scottish Government, covering 5,500 staff. Driving had been identified as the main health and safety risk. There was a fatigue / distraction policy which included ensuring a break was taken after driving for two hours. Mobile phone use whilst driving is also forbidden. One of the main challenges in agreeing this MORR policy was a certain degree of Union resistance, and this had necessitated some compromises. 9.2 There were issues relating to self-declaration on matters such as defective eyesight. A review process on eye-testing had been initiated and this would have to go through a consultation process. Members were advised that the Police have eye testing done every two years in order to drive for work. A short discussion on this issue followed. 6
9.3 There was a requirement to review the MORR policy, with a focus on real priorities which are risk based. Karen McDonnell reminded Members that RoSPA had sent an electronic survey on MORR policies and requirements to its key stakeholders but had not received a huge response to identify what the real issues were. Members volunteered to republicise the exercise but Karen advised that it may be better to move to the next step and she offered to help advise organisations how to frame and implement a MORR policy. Members volunteered different ways of facilitating this including for local authorities through the executive group of COSLA. Keith Brown MSP left the meeting at this point. 9.5 Karen McDonnell advised Members that the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ScORSA) provides an information hub within Scotland to raise awareness of managing occupational road risk and ACPOS road policing attend ScORSA meetings. Support is still needed. There is a role for ScORSA and partners in assisting other organisations, including local authorities, in implementing MORR. Action 5: Tom Ewing to arrange a meeting with Ian Murray and Road Safety Scotland / TS Road Safety to discuss ACPOS representation on the Road Safety Strategic Partnership Board and within ScORSA. Action 6: ScORSA to assist local authorities in implementation of MORR. Karen McDonnell and Mike Berry to liaise with Willie Munro and George Eckton to ascertain current level of MORR implementation. 9.6 Members were reminded of the Framework commitment that says we will, Ensure that all contractors working with Scottish Government have a MORR policy in place. In order to start implementing that commitment, the Scottish Government now does have to show leadership, so it is important that both SG and Transport Scotland have MORR policies in place. Mike Berry Transport Scotland 0131-244 0039 4 March 2013 7