Pedestrian deaths up by 40pc despite SNP's 'safest roads in world' pledge

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THE number of pedestrians killed on Scotland's roads soared by 40 per cent last year to the highest fatality rate in a decade.

At the same time, cyclist deaths leapt from two to seven – a rise of 250 per cent.

The figures, shocking in themselves, are a severe blow to the Scottish Government's ambition to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030.

Publication of the grim toll comes in a month which has seen a number of pedestrians killed. On Tuesday morning, a 53-year-old man died in a collision involving two lorries on the A9 Perth bypass.

Last Sunday, a 49-year-old male pedestrian was killed in Cumbernauld. 

And it was confirmed at the weekend that an 86-year-old man who was struck by a Mercedes at Clarkston Toll, in East Renfrewshire, on May 17 had also died.

French student Emma Burke Newman died last year after she was crushed by a lorry in Glasgow

Chris Thompson, acting co-director of the pedestrian charity Living Streets Scotland, said: 'People walking and wheeling cause the least amount of danger on our streets yet are often left paying the price, as these increases in fatalities show.

'Scotland's targets for casualty reductions will continue to be out of reach until we see investment in measures to increase road safety.

'Better enforcement against dangerous driving, more crossings and slower speeds can all make our streets safer and prevent families living through the nightmare of losing a loved one.'

Figures published by Transport Scotland showed that the number of pedestrian fatalities north of the Border jumped from 34 in 2022 to 47 last year – an increase of almost 40 per cent.

It was the highest total killed since 2014, when 59 people died.

The year was also notable for a significant rise in cyclist deaths, up from two in 2022 to seven last year. 

Among them was Glasgow School of Art student, Emma Burke Newman, who was crushed by a lorry in the city's Broomielaw as she rode away at traffic lights in January 2023.

Lorry driver Paul Mowat, 69, later admitted causing the 22-year-old's death by careless driving. He was given a 12-month driving ban and 100 hours of community service.

Yesterday, Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop chose to focus on the reduction in the overall number of deaths – the total number of road deaths last year was 155, down 16 from 2022.

Ms Hyslop said road safety 'remains an absolute priority', adding: 'We continue to work towards our target of Scotland having the best road safety performance in the world by 2030.'

Last month, it was revealed that hundreds of roadside speed warning signs around the country had not been repaired since the pandemic.

Some councils blamed a lack of sunshine to operate solar-powered units.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: 'Scotland has adopted a challenging road safety framework to eliminate casualties on our roads.

'While there was an overall reduction in deaths, the increases to pedestrian and cyclist fatalities will require review to see what, if any, changes could have been made to prevent them.'

Sturgeon 'apology' over A9 failure 

Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for the SNP's failure to upgrade a notoriously deadly road.

The SNP announced in December that the project to dual the A9 will not be finished until 2035, ten years later than promised.

The A9 Safety Group has said 77 per cent of all fatal and serious accidents on the road occurred on single carriageway sections. Thirteen people died on the road in 2022, the highest total for 20 years.

At Holyrood's public petitions committee yesterday, Ms Sturgeon denied that the SNP government had 'messed up' the project but she said: 'I am sorry we haven't dualled the A9 and I regret that.'

She added: 'The 2025 target was always a massive mountain to climb.'