A WARNING has been issued by a top cop after a concerning number of recent road accidents where people have been hit by cars.

Steven Meikle, Operation Superintendent for Greater Glasgow Division, has spoken out about safety on the city’s roads.

It comes after a recent incident covered by the Glasgow Times in which a man using his mobile phone was hit by a car whilst he crossed a busy road.

Mr Meikle said: “It’s similar to being in a car and using your mobile phone. It’s a distraction.

“So, the same analogy goes for pedestrians, whilst it’s not an offence, you’re running into the likelihood of being run down by a car if you’re not aware of your whereabouts.”

Glasgow Times:

There has been a decrease in road traffic fatalities over the last three years, but this year had already seen an increase from 2022 just five months in.

According to Police Scotland data, seven people lost their lives on the city’s roads last year, nine in 2021 and 14 in 2020.

By June this year, 13 people had died after being hit by vehicles.

READ MORE: More lives lost on Glasgow's roads so far this year than in total last year

“Clearly any rise in road deaths is a concern,” Mr Meikle said.

“Ultimately that involves a fatality, which involves a family losing a loved one. So absolutely we would be concerned about any rise in road deaths.

“If there was any pattern, if there was any hotspot location, we would look at that closely.

“We look to see what the cause of the accident was, and we look to see what preventative measures we could take going forward to prevent it happening again.

“Sometimes if it's specific to a location, it could be that there's something that needs re-designed in terms of street furniture, whether it's lighting, whether it's speed reduction measures, that type of thing, but that's where we would work with the local authority to implement those changes.”

Police Scotland runs several campaigns each year covering all aspects of road safety.

READ MORE: 'My kids watched me cry': Man's heartbreak after sister killed by car in Glasgow

These include raising awareness of the issues and catching road users who are committing crimes and putting themselves and others at risk – including drink and drug drivers, those not wearing a seatbelt or motorists passing too close to cyclists.

Mr Meikle added: “There's a whole range of activity which we follow throughout the calendar year which is scheduled ahead. We work with the traffic department, and partners such as the local authorities.

“We carry out joint patrols with trading standards officers to ensure vehicles are roadworthy, so a whole range of things.”