Speeding and stress cause of accident rise
LOCKDOWN changes to road layouts, an increase in speeding and Covid related stress have been cited as possible reasons for a spike in the number of car accidents in the central belt.
In the past month as more people have returned to work, there have been three crashes on Glasgow’s Clydeside Expressway in the same week including two in the same spot.
Police Scotland said every crash is judged “on its own merits” and it will be September 2021 before this year’s road accident figures are published identifying any possible trends.
Neil Greig of the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) said it is likely that overall, 2020 will be judged a good year for road safety due to lockdown travel restrictions but said during the period when more people returned to work, “we could see some issues”.
He believes there could be a number of factors at play for a possible rise in accidents such as changes to road layouts including an increase in pop-up cycle lanes and said some early data has shown an increase in convictions for speeding and drink and drug driving.
Greig also said a general increase in stress following the pandemic could have had an impact.
He said: “Our view is, people don’t forget how to drive in three or four months of lockdown.
“The mechanics of driving won’t leave you. If you’ve been driving for a few years that’s an ingrained skill.
“What could be an issue is confidence and perhaps some of the new road layouts that people are getting used to.
“There are lots of things that are adding to people’s stress including new traffic layouts, the general stress of work plus the roads are still quieter so people are going that bit faster.
“There’s a general level of stress going on as well, which might affect people’s driving.
“I’ve seen some data from down south and there is no doubt that speeds have gone up.
“When roads are quieter people tend to go a bit faster. If you go a bit faster and something goes wrong, you are going to get a crash that could have been avoided.
“There has been a lot of police activity and the usual summer campaigns, but they seem to have gone on a bit longer.
“People do seem to be easier to catch because it’s quieter – we are certainly seeing this in places down south including London.
“They are getting much higher convictions for speeding, more drink and drug driving.”
The IAM previously raised concerns that driver distraction could escalate because some good behaviour habits may have been lost during the coronavirus lockdown.
Such as a rise in mobile phone breaches after weeks spent relying on screens and phones to keep in touch with family, friends and work colleagues.
Greig said: “We won’t know the answer to this question for another year.
“Because the roads have been quiet, the crashes have perhaps been more obvious.
“I’m pretty sure that because of the lockdown when we get to the 2020 figures, overall it will probably be a good year but within this period of going back to work, we could see some issues.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We haven’t noticed any particular trends in terms of the number of road crashes or the cause this summer. Everyone is assessed on its own merits and investigated as necessary.”