Manifesto for safety
Campaigners are calling for urgent action to improve safety in Scotland and end the country’s “accident crisis” ahead of this year’s Holyrood elections. The number of accidental deaths there rose by 60% between 2013 and 2023 and accidents now claim 2,500 lives a year. The country’s rate of accidental death is 56% above the UK average and people are almost twice as likely to have a fatal transport crash in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has now published a manifesto called Towards a Safer Scotland, listing a number of measures to better protect people. These include an in-depth review of the gig economy, including working conditions and work-related risks, as well the development of transferable health and safety qualifications for workers who move between sectors. Road safety measures include an increased focus on motorcyclists, more 20mph speed limits and mandatory periodic eye tests for all drivers.
The manifesto also calls for national home safety programmes and for stair safety to be included in the Scottish building standards for new homes. In the foreword to the publication, RoSPA Chief Executive Officer Becky Hickman said: “Rising accident rates represent a combined social, public health and economic crisis that the next Scottish Government must address as an immediate priority. Any future government must build on existing safety programmes and introduce further targeted interventions, supported by coordinated policy action, to save lives.”
