Road accidents caused by road rage/impatient driving: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


Information requested

  • Is there a way TS keeps track of accidents caused by road rage/impatient driving?
  • If so, how many road traffic incidents/accidents have occurred in the years; 2020-21/2022- 2023/2023-2024, due to road rage/impatient driving?
  • Can TS evidence that reducing the national speed limit from 60 to 50 mph would protect drivers, opposed to putting them at further risk?

Response

With regards to the first two bullet points in your request, the records we hold relate to collisions where someone is injured or killed, and which become known to Police Scotland.

Police Scotland do not directly record whether road rage or impatient driving caused a given collision.

However, Police Scotland currently record whether 'aggressive, dangerous, or reckless driving' was a factor that may have contributed to the collision. The table overleaf provides the number of collisions where a police officer attended and this road safety factor was recorded.

Financial year

Injury collisions where 'aggressive, dangerous, or reckless driving' recorded as road safety factor

2020/21

287

2021/22

468

2022/23

681

2023/24

966

Please note that figures for financial year 2023/2024 are provisional, as figures for calendar year 2024 have not yet been finalised. Figures for 2023/2024 may present an incomplete picture of casualties for that period due to a slight lag between collisions occurring and records being processed and shared by Police Scotland. These figures are also subject to change due to subsequent corrections and late records.

With regards the final bullet point in your request, in summer 2022 Transport Scotland commissioned WSP UK Ltd (WSP) to commence a review to inform the development of a National Speed Management Plan (NSMP) for Scotland. The NSMP identifies a range of speed management initiatives aligned to the Safe System including alterations of speed limits. The evidence supporting the review was published along with the consultation and is available via the Transport Scotland website: National Speed Management Review 2024 | Transport Scotland.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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