It takes less than half an hour on Scotland's roads to see how far many drivers have strayed from the good habits they presumably had on the day they passed their test.
Motorists whizzing along at 40mph in a 30mph zone, driving on roundabouts while fiddling with the radio dial, driving far too fast for the weather conditions: these are far from unusual sights.
The proof of how widespread bad driving is comes from Police Scotland itself. The Herald reveals today that, in a single week recently, police pulled over more than 7,000 motorists because of concerns about their driving, with nearly 3,000 either fined or issued with a verbal warning as a consequence.
Police Scotland is acting to tackle not just specific types of road traffic offence but also a widespread tolerance among Scots of driving that is reckless and could endanger lives. Chief Constable Sir Stephen House and his team are right to take that approach. Cutting road deaths and injuries cannot be achieved by focusing narrowly on speeding or drink-driving, crucially important as these ongoing campaigns are. There has to be more of a focus on the quality of driving generally.
Sir Stephen has signalled his intention to take road deaths as seriously as homicides. Dramatic as that may sound, it is perfectly legitimate. He believes Scots are accepting an unnecessarily high level of road deaths, with as many as 200 expected this year, possibly due to a belief that accidents cannot be prevented below a certain level. In actual fact, very many road casualties are avoidable because they are caused by bad driving. That being so, it is time for a zero-tolerance approach.
Drink-driving is socially unacceptable; the chief constable and his team want speed and aggression, failure to use seat belts, and using mobile phones while driving to become similar social taboos. They believe that pulling people up for their driving, seconds after an incident has occurred, will make them think about it and also make them more aware of the danger of being prosecuted. The hope must be that this twin effect of critique and deterrent will start to bring about a shift in attitudes towards widely flouted rules of the road.
Part of the problem is that many drivers regard rules such as speed limits and the use of speed cameras to enforce them as politically correct infringements of their liberties as drivers, worthy only of eye-rolling disdain. Some drivers appear to have lost sight completely of the safety rationale behind speed-limit enforcement. Additionally, many drivers, particularly some males (and not just young males), appear to equate fast, impatient driving with accomplished driving. Experienced drivers also tend to develop bad habits without even realising it.
All this means that speeding, tailgating, dangerous overtaking and "swooping" from the outside lane of a dual carriageway into a slip road are depressingly commonplace, in spite of being fundamentally dangerous.
Roadside re-education by the police has the potential to help cut deaths on the road. It will not be universally welcomed, but it should be.
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