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Road Safety is the Top Priority In West Lothian (Scotland) 

Article reproduced here by kind permission of icWestLothian.co.uk

March 12,  2004

West Lothian did its part this week to help promote World Health Day — while celebrating its improved road safety record at the same time.

This year, the event — organised by the World Health Organisation — is focusing for the first time on road accidents and the county is joining the rest of the country in bolstering the Scottish Road Safety Campaign.

To help bring its message to the public, the SRSC created a baton containing a document stating its commitment to World Health Day which featured signatures from representatives of the country’s 32 local authorities, eight police forces and 15 health boards.

The baton is making its way around Scotland — and reached West Lothian this week.

It was presented on Monday to Councillor Jim Swan of West Lothian Council’s community safety committee by junior road safety officers from Carmondean Primary School. It will finish its journey on World Health Day, on April 7, at Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow.

Councillor Swan said: “I think this is a great initiative and it is good that the World Health Organisation now recognises that we have got problems on roads and that road safety has now been put on the agenda worldwide.

“It is also good to see children in particular in primary schools where they have road safety officers. The fact that we haven’t had any child deaths on the roads in our area last year is good, and if we can keep up that record, I will be well pleased.”

The main objectives of WHD is to highlight vulnerable groups of road users, to call for action to increase efforts to prevent accidents and to raise awareness of the health impact, social and economical costs of road accidents.

West Lothian has met the most recent targets set by the Scottish Executive for reducing road accidents: during 2003, there were no children killed on roads; six children were seriously hurt in road crashes and 57 slightly injured.

The number of youngsters injured on roads in West Lothian has fallen from an average of 108 casualties per year during the period 1994 to 1998, and the Government target to halve the number of children killed or seriously injured by 2010 was achieved last year — seven years ahead of schedule.

The number of fatal and serious injuries as a whole has fallen by 65 per cent from average of 122 per year during 1994 to 1998. The Government target of a 40 per cent reduction by 2010 has again been met seven years early.

Paul Richardson, road safety manager with Lothian and Borders Police, said of the figures: “This is excellent news that the Government target was reached seven years early; however, the real challenge now is to sustain these low numbers. It’s important that drivers reduce their speeds in residential areas and near schools.”

Article reproduced here by kind permission of icWestLothian.co.uk