Highlands & Islands (including Moray) MSP, Shadow Transport and Islands Minister and road safety campaigner, David Stewart, has been given a national road safety award by the charity Brake and Direct Line Group for his tireless campaign to prevent young driver crashes and save lives by introducing a graduated driver licence scheme in Scotland.
Graduated driver licensing allows new drivers to build skills and experience gradually while less exposed to danger, by setting a minimum learning period and imposing restrictions on newly-qualified drivers, such as a night-time curfew and limit on carrying young passengers, for a period after passing the driving test.
Graduated driver licensing is used in a number of other countries including Australia, New Zealand, and many US states, and it is estimated it could save 400 deaths and serious injuries a year if used in the UK [1]. David Stewart has been at the forefront of the campaign to introduce graduated driver licensing as a pilot in Scotland since 2010.
In December 2014, David travelled to London and met with Transport Minister, Claire Perry MP, to make the case for a pilot graduated driver licence scheme in Scotland. The minister asked David to provide her with his research on the issue, which the Government will make use of to respond with their own proposals.
In the meantime, David has been gathering support, including by meeting with the Head of Roads Policing in Scotland, Superintendent Iain Murray, in January 2015.
To complement his call for Graduated Driver Licensing, David also launched a scheme called the Progressive Teen Driver Agreement in 2014. This initiative is designed to get parents and teenage drivers to agree on how they will behave behind the wheel – and the consequences if they break the agreement.
Beyond young driver issues, David has established a reputation as a leading all-round road safety campaigner, raising awareness on issues from tyre safety and winter driving to mobile phone use and driver eyesight, including through Brake’s annual Road Safety Week campaign.
David has previously won the BRAKE award for the month of December 2010 and Parliamentarian of the year 2010.
Graduated driver licensing is one of Brake’s key manifesto calls for the 2015 general election, and an integral part of the charity’s too young to die campaign. Tweet us: @Brakecharity, #tooyoungtodie.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: “Young people are being killed and seriously injured at a shocking rate on roads across the UK, and young drivers are involved in a huge proportion of serious road crashes. Graduated driver licensing is a tried and tested way of tackling the problem, yet Westminster has repeatedly stalled on progressing the decisive changes we need to our learning to drive system, as more young lives are being lost. David has been a wonderful champion for the cause, and we hope that with his continued hard work, Scotland can set an example for the rest of the UK on young driver safety. David is a passionate and dedicated road safety campaigner, and we are pleased to recognise this by making him our road safety parliamentarian of the month.”
Accepting his award, David Stewart, said: “I am delighted on behalf of my team, to accept this award which is recognition of the hard work we have all put into making our roads safer. It is a sad fact that there is a high proportion of serious and fatal road collisions involving young people on our roads and of course one of these collisions, is just one too many. I have been working closely with Dr Sarah Jones of Cardiff University who carried out 10 years of study into road collisions in Scotland and Wales. Her studies found that up to £80 million could be saved to the Scottish Economy and up to 22 lives per year could also be saved, if a Graduated Licence was introduced in Scotland alone”.
David Stewart continued “ The RAC Foundation just last year published a report in which they highlighted that 15.7% of all road collisions in the Highlands and North East Scotland were attributed to those drivers aged between 17 and 19 years of age”.
“I am obviously fully aware that mobility is key to most social activity and employment especially in the rural areas and indeed driving is in fact the actual employment of some young people. Understandably this is why most young drivers may be opposed to such a scheme as the Graduated Licence Scheme. That said, the benefits are massive and we all have to remember that such a scheme, if introduced, would include exemptions to allow young drivers to drive during restricted periods”.
“ I want to work with our partners and young people to come up with solutions designed to make our roads safer for all. That is my aim and objective with regards the many initiatives my team have set up”.
“Finally, I wish to thank BRAKE and Direct Line Insurance for acknowledging the commitment and drive my team and I have put into road safety related issues over the years and I know that all involved with me in my various road safety campaigns will be delighted with this award as recognition of their efforts”.
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