Welcome and Introductions/Previous Minutes and Actions

The Chair welcomed members to the meeting and proceeded with round the table introductions.

The previous minutes were circulated and no comments were received, these have since been published on the TS website.

There was one outstanding action which will be picked up at the next meeting:

Action 30: Stay informed of DfT consultation to allow motorcycles to access bus lanes by default.

The Chair advised that a Communications Handling Plan has been developed. The aim is to showcase what is being delivered as part of the record £36m investment into road safety and efforts to enhance road safety in Scotland. The Plan is also there for stakeholders to promote any activity, highlighting the importance of a joined up partnership approach. It was also noted that there had been significant coverage of the recent announcement of £14m to assist local authorities enhance road safety across the local road network.

The Chair highlighted that the Cabinet Secretary for Transport recently met with her UK Government counterpart, Lillian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads where a number of reserved matters were discussed, including requesting that the UK adopts the EU General Safety Regulations, the delivery of a pilot for Graduated Driving Licence and fitness to drive with regards to older road users.

The UK Government advised that they will develop their own Road Safety Strategy and the Chair is meeting with UK Government counterparts on 19 November to discuss this.

It was noted by that His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) report on their thematic inspection into roads policing has been published.

The Cabinet Secretary continues to chair the Strategic Partnership Board (SPB), which last met on 30 October. The Operational Partnership Group (OPG) and SPB will now meet 4 times per year, due to increase in casualties.