A road safety charity is to launch a new charter for the “neglected victims” of road crashes, amidst a rise in the number of people killed or seriously injured on Scotland’s roads.
Figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) show there were 2,084 deaths or serious injuries on Scotland’s roads in 2023, compared with 1,945 in 2022 – a rise of 7.1%.
There was however a fall in the number of road deaths, with 153 people killed in 2023, compared with 173 the year before.
The Road Victims’ Charter, which is being launched in Westminster on Monday by the charity Brake, will call for the introduction of national standards that meet “best practice for post-crash response”.
Written in collaboration with bereaved families, trauma consultants, and medical and legal professionals, the charter will also call for the rights of crime victims – as set out in the Victims’ Code – to be extended to those impacted by road harm.
Ross Moorlock, Brake chief executive, said: “Road casualties are not just statistics. Behind every number is a grief-stricken family whose lives have been changed forever in an instant.
“The demand on our service continues to grow as road deaths and injuries show no sign of reducing.
“Every year, more families suffer the devastating impact of a road crash. Every year, more and more families come to us in their darkest and most difficult times.
“By comparison, at a Government level, funding for support for road victims is inadequate – so we and other charities that support bereaved and seriously injured families rely on the generosity of other supporters to fund our vital work.
“We know that the right support at the right time can change the course of someone’s life.
“Every road victim deserves the very highest standard of support and for that to happen we need a co-ordinated approach and national standards that meet best practice for post-crash response.
“We need national, multi-year funding for the provision of support to the affected road victim community, so that every family has access to trauma-informed, face-to-face support within their community, according to their needs.”
Eighteen Scottish council areas saw an increase in the number of deaths or serious injuries on roads in 2023.
Shetland was the area with the highest percentage increase, seeing its total rise from four in 2022 to 11 in 2023 – an increase of 175%.
Meanwhile, Glasgow was the area with the highest total with 240 – up from 231 the year before.
The DfT figures show that across the UK as a whole there were 29,711 people killed or seriously injured on the roads in 2023 – 11 more than the year before.
Brake said its National Road Victim Service provided emotional and practical support to more than 1,500 families in the UK in 2023 – including more than 110 in Scotland.
It said many of those families had been involved in multi-fatality crashes, and 7% of cases involved the death of a child.
The charity added that at any one time it was providing support to about 700 families of road victims – including parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and people who have witnessed a traumatic incident.
Mr Moorlock said: “Road victims have been the forgotten and neglected victims for far too long and that has to change.
“Our families have told us what they want and what they need – and that includes recognition of the trauma of sudden road death and injury, parity with other victim groups, sentencing to fit the crime and lessons learned to prevent future road death and injury.
“Until we achieve a world where no one is killed or harmed on a road, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that everyone affected by road death and injury receives the respect, support and justice they deserve.”
The launch of the charter comes during Road Safety Week 2024, which began on Sunday November 17, the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, and runs until November 23.
Brake was founded in 1995, and exists to stop deaths, serious injuries and pollution on roads, and to care for families bereaved and injured in road crashes.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
“We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads, and we are developing a road safety strategy which we will set out more details on in due course.”
