Completed research
Children's Attitudes to Sustainable Transport
This project aims to understand the attitudes of children and young people towards sustainable transport. Sustainable transport here is understood to mean an approach to transport which supports rather than threatens a strong economy, an inclusive society and a clean environment (Scottish Executive, 1998). A particular need is to reverse the trend of increasing private car use, which has been identified as leading to congestion, reduced quality of life, environmental impacts, poor physical health and many other effects.
Children's Traffic Club in Scotland: Gym Card Evaluation
The overall aim of this research was to evaluate the Nursery and Playgroup Gym Cards.
Crash Magnets research
This report sets out findings from qualitative research exploring the views of young people, teachers and road safety professionals towards the Crash Magnets road safety education resource.
Drinking and Driving 2007
This research aimed to measure prevalence of driving after drinking alcohol (both within and above the legal limit), and to examine attitudes towards drinking and driving amongst drivers in Scotland.
Driver Distraction Research
The Scottish Executive has just published a literature review looking at External-To-Vehicle Driver Distraction. The review was conducted by Dr Brendan Wallace of Human Factors Analysts Ltd.
Evaluation of Bikesafe Scotland
Bikesafe Scotland Research Published. Bikesafe Scotland is a multi-agency initiative involving Scottish police forces, motorcycling organisations and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign. It is aimed at reducing the number and severity of crashes involving motorcyclists.
Evaluation of Foolsspeed
The first three years of Foolsspeed advertising were evaluated by the Centre for Social Marketing (CSM) at the University of Strathclyde through a three-year longitudinal survey of a quota sample of drivers aged 17-54.
Evaluation of Foolsspeed Campaign – Final Phase
This report evaluates the final advertising phase of the Road Safety Scotland Foolsspeed initiative, focusing on the 'Doppelganger' television advert and its perceived impact within, and relationship to, the wider Foolsspeed campaign. It also provides a retrospective of the campaign as a whole and discusses issues involved in using the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a model on which to base road safety campaigns.
Evaluation of Streetsense
Streetsense is a road safety education resource developed by Road Safety Scotland (previously the Scottish Road Safety Campaign) after extensive research and piloting, making use of experienced teachers to support its development. It was launched in September 2003 with the aim of making it available to all primary schools across Scotland.
Evaluation of the 2003/2004 Festive Drink Drive Campaign
The Transport & Planning Research Team commissioned mruk research on behalf of the Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) to undertake research to evaluate the 2003 drink drive festive campaign and the broader 'Don't risk it' drink drive campaign.
Evaluation of the CTCS Nursery and Playgroup Pack
In September 2002, ODS Ltd. was commissioned by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign to carry out an evaluation of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS) Revised Nursery and Playgroup Pack.
Evaluation of the Drug Driving Television Advert
The SRSC launched a television advert highlighting the fact that the Police in Scotland are now using methods imported from America to detect driver impairment through the use of drugs on 20th May 2002. This evaluation project aims to assess the impact of this advert, particularly on the target group of young drivers. The evaluation involves a household survey of a representative sample of Scottish drivers, followed by a number of in depth interviews and focus group discussions with young drivers.
Evaluation of the SRSC Young Driver Campaign
The Scottish Executive commissioned mruk to assess the suitability of a proposed new advertising campaign designed to reduce the number of driving accidents among new, young drivers by increasing awareness of their vulnerability when driving. In February 2005 the SRSC launched a two-week campaign comprising of a 40-second radio advert, 180 outdoor panels, and 30 lenticular bus sides.
mruk was subsequently commissioned to evaluate the campaign, test materials for future campaigns, and identify further areas for development.
Extent & Severity of Cycle Accidents in Scotland
The police currently collect statistics (STATS19) on the number of road accidents involving cyclists on Scottish roads. This, by its nature, is confined to those accidents which occur on roads and to which the police are asked to attend. It does not provide any data on off-road accidents or on those accidents that the police do not attend. As a result there is little data on the full extent of cycle accidents, their severity or their cause.
Frank McKenna's Think Piece
This ‘Think Piece’ was commissioned on behalf of Road Safety Scotland (RSS). To identify the extent to which Road Safety Interventions in Scotland and further afield, aimed at young drivers/pre-drivers, promote responsible attitudes to being a driver, that have a lasting influence on driving behaviour.
Illicit Drugs and Driving
The prevalence of driving under the influence of drugs has been causing increasing concern among those involved in the promotion of road safety and has been the focus of much recent research. In 1999, the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign (the SRSC changed its name to Road Safety Scotland in October 2005 and the new title will be used throughout the remainder of this report) commissioned the first Scottish study to examine the prevalence of, and attitudes towards, recreational drug use and driving among drivers aged 17-39 years.
Improving Road Safety Education for Children with Additional Support Needs
In 2004, the Scottish Executive and Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) commissioned ODS to undertake a study which aimed to "investigate the travel patterns and road safety requirements of children with Additional Support Needs, and put forward recommendations on how their needs may be more effectively met through the provision of road safety education."
Increasing Membership of the CTCS in Areas of High Social Deprivation
In September 2005, Road Safety Scotland (RSS) and the Scottish Executive appointed ODS to investigate how membership of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS) could successfully be promoted in areas of high social deprivation.
Motorcycle Accidents and Casualties in Scotland 1992-2002
The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign commissioned TRL Ltd. to undertake research into motorcycle accidents in Scotland. The research provided a quantitative and qualitative analysis of motorcycle accidents between 1992 and 2002 in order to highlight trends and identify measures that could be taken to reduce the number and severity of motorcycle accidents in Scotland.
New Driver Project
The aim of this project was to compare the effectiveness of a post driving test intervention with a traditional pre-driver training input in the improvement of the safety of young drivers. Four hundred and fifty subjects aged between 17-21 were recruited to the project. The subjects were randomly allocated into three groups: pre-driver training group, post test intervention group and the control group.
Other Research
RSS has been involved with a number of other research projects. The reports are listed below.
Parental Attitudes to Road Safety Education Final Report
In August 2003 the Scottish Executive commissioned ODS Ltd. and Market Research UK to carry out research into parental attitudes to road safety education (RSE) in Scotland. The study was to focus on parents of two specific age groups of children and young people – 7-13 year olds and 14-18 year olds.
Peer Road Safety Education in Scottish Secondary Schools
The research explores, for Road Safety Scotland, the feasibility of using peer education (ie fellow students) to teach road safety programmes in secondary schools in Scotland. The methodology consisted of structured interviews with key stakeholders, case studies and a literature review. This research was conducted by East House Research.
Plan to Improve Road Safety in Local Authorities: Good Practice Guidelines
In 2000, the UK Government, Scottish Executive and National Assembly for Wales set national casualty reduction targets to cut casualties significantly by 2010. Whilst at the national level the number of casualties in road accidents has fallen in line with the targets, there is a wide variation in the performance in individual local authority areas in Scotland.
Research into Drivers Attitudes towards Drinking and Driving
Each year the Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) supports the Scottish Police Service drink drive enforcement campaigns through publicity measures. Planning for these campaigns has in the past not been targeted at specific 'types' of drunk drivers, but aimed at all drivers and the consequences of drinking and driving. It has been recognised by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) & SRSC that if any further impact on drink drive figures is to be achieved then a more structured approach to publicity campaigns, based on research evidence, is needed. It is in this connection that the SRSC in association with ACPOS commissioned some research into current driver attitudes towards drink driving.
Research into RSE in S3 to S6 in Scottish Secondary Schools
The aims of this research were to identify examples of road safety education (RSE) in Scottish secondary schools, both state and independent, and to highlight examples of good practice.
Review of Road Safety Education for S1 and S2 in Personal and Social Education
This review sought to identify what was needed to replace the current resource and which themes had particular resonance for this age group. Focus groups of RSOs, teachers and pupils identified the style and approach that most engaged this group, as well as the topics that were of most relevance to them.
Risk Assessment & Risk Taking Amongst Motorcyclists
This was a study of attitudes to risk taking and understanding of risks amongst motorcyclists in Scotland in order to inform future Road Safety Scotland campaigns.
Road Safety – By Accident or Design?
ROAD SAFETY - BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN? In August 2003 the Scottish Executive commissioned Colin Buchanan & Partners to conduct a study aimed at identifying good practice in the promotion of road safety in community regeneration schemes. The specific objectives of the study included a review of a number of major physical regeneration schemes in Scotland and examine how safety was managed; explore the potential for inter agency working; develop policy & practice guidelines; review current planning & design guidance on safety within community regeneration and develop a monitoring & evaluation framework.
Road Safety and Social Inclusion
Research published in 2000 showed that there is a link between the neighbourhood one lives in and the rate of road accident casualties. People of all age groups experiencing social exclusion generally suffer higher casualty rates. Road Safety Scotland is keen to support the development of more community-based measures and initiatives aimed at reducing accident rates in such communities.
Road Safety Education and Teacher Training in Scotland
The central aim of this research was to review the road safety input to all courses in the 7 Scottish teacher-training colleges (TTC). Stage One of the research involved consultation with Road Safety Units, which had TTCs in their area, and explored the road safety input into the TTC and links with the TTC. Stage Two involved consultation with the Health Education co-ordinators (or equivalent) in each TTC.
These interviews established the extent and nature of Road Safety Education (RSE) within the teacher training courses and the support and resources which would be needed to ensure that there was a road safety input to the TTCs, in line with the national strategy for RSE. Two focus groups were also held with primary teacher trainees: one group with trainee teachers who had had some road safety input into their course, the other group had not.
Road Safety Education in the Scottish Curriculum
The aim of this research was to identify a base on which to build an effective strategy for establishing, maintaining and promoting road safety education in the curriculum. The research involved interviewing the key stakeholders in RSE at a national and local authority level and thereby identifying mechanisms for ensuring a more equitable provision of RSE across Scottish schools.
Rural Road Safety: Drivers and Driving
This research was designed to increase RSS understanding of road accidents on rural roads for use in future strategy and campaign development. It focused on investigating types of rural road drivers, their behaviour and attitudes, and what influences them, as well as on factors that contribute to accidents.
Rural Roads Literature Review
The main aim of this research is to collate information relating to road accidents on rural roads, suggest how it may be applied to Scotland and provide recommendations for action.
Safely to School
This report presents findings from a seven-month study of the place of Safer Routes to School (SRTS) in the school curriculum in Scotland. It was commissioned by The Scottish Executive Development Department in January 2003 and conducted by the Scottish Council for Research in Education Centre (SCRE) and ODS. The study comprised three distinct phases: first, a review of previous research on road safety; second a survey of all 32 local authorities; and third, a more detailed investigation into the implementation of SRTS in six case study schools.
This report draws together the main findings from the study and highlights a number of issues which have implications for Safer Routes to School and other road safety initiatives.
Seatbelt wearing in Scotland – A study on compliance
The main aim of this research is to carry out a second compliance survey (updating the survey from 1997) to obtain a reliable measure of the current extent of the use of seatbelts and other restraints in Scotland. More specific objectives are to establish any significant differences since the 1997 survey; to establish differences between gender, age, front, rear seat passengers and to ascertain whether compliance rates vary according to traffic conditions, geographic location or road type.
The survey will also establish the extent of hand held mobile phone use by drivers. A further element of the study is to conduct a literature review on the use of child car seats and problems regarding their correct fitting.
The Speeding Driver, Who, How and Why Research
The Scottish Executive commissioned research to follow up previous studies in 1991, 1994 and 1996 on the causes and consequences of speeding.
Travel Pack Evaluation
The SRSC Travel Pack is an informal educational resource aimed at 8-10 year olds. The pack was first introduced in 1995 and a revised version issued in 1999. The pack contains an activity booklet, the Highway Code for young road users, a road safety audiotape, a competition postcard and crayons.
The Role of Information Technology in Road Safety Education
The project was commissioned to evaluate the current and potential use of IT in Scottish schools, particularly in the context of RSE. It explored what type of IT resource was used for RSE in schools, identified the strengths and weaknesses of IT as a medium for road safety education and evaluated the potential of IT in the teaching of road safety.
Insight Gathering for Rural Roads
This research was commissioned to identify young drivers’ attitudes and behaviours and what would encourage them to adopt positive attitudinal and behavioural changes towards driving on rural roads. Qualitative research is required to generate more insight into the young driver psyche and findings from this research have been used to inform the creative development of a new cinema advert which will air in 2010.
Young Pre-Driver Qualitative Research July 2007
This insight gathering research explored attitudes among young pre-drivers towards speeding, driving after drinking and after taking illegal drugs. It was commissioned by the Edinburgh-based Union Advertising Agency, on behalf of RSS, to inform the advertising agency’s information strategy as, although considerable information existed regarding qualified and provisional drivers, there was no single study gathering insight on young pre-drivers.
The aim of this research was to understand pre-drivers’ attitudes to speeding, drink-driving and drug-driving, in order to inform the development of an effective communications and information strategy designed to change the future driving behaviour of pre-drivers.
