Glasgow road deaths: New speed tracking tool to be introduced

The speed analysis tool uses intelligence from sat navs and mobile phones among other information sources based on millions of car journeys within 12 months.

The council has been using the system for about six months to keep an eye on speed as part of efforts to improve road safety.

Tragically, 13 people lost their lives after being hit by vehicles in the city this year.

As investigations are ongoing into these incidents, Glasgow City Council are launching the new tool. 

Traffic officers in Glasgow (Image: Newsquest)

Road safety officer George Cairns told a meeting last week: “This new system allows us to access speed data for any street in the city without having to undertake expensive site checks.”

“It is a very useful piece of kit we have just acquired which allows us to check any street throughout the city for speed data.”

Speaking at the Safe Glasgow Partnership meeting, he said the council tries to prevent collisions through engineering measures to roads, including speed bumps, traffic calming and road design.

READ MORE: How Glasgow city council plan to reduce road deaths

He added: “They are applied in areas where we know there are casualties and we know speeding is an issue.”

“More often than not collisions are occurring in random locations or on arterial routes. Human error unfortunately has always been and still is one of the highest causation factors in collisions.”

The meeting heard the council looks at data where there have been road traffic collisions to determine actions including road changes or education.

Glasgow has a target of no fatalities or serious injuries on city roads by 2030.

Scottish Greens councillor Holly Bruce said the new speed tool is “positive.”

She said: “There needs to be a massive undertaking in terms of education in relation to vehicles users like bus drivers and taxi drivers and people who can do serious damage to cyclists and pedestrians.”

Tributes to Emma Newman (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

She called for more information to be collected on road incidents where people escape without injuries, to help identify potential danger hotspots before an accident.

Mr Cairns said there is a message for everybody and referred to the work of the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance (SCORSA), which promotes fleet safety.

He said there could also be local promotion of safety, including HGVs.

Mr Cairns said the council only have access to road incident data involving injuries. He said he would look at whether it was possible to obtain data on collisions, which didn’t result in injuries.

Mr Cairns said a Go Safe Glasgow Road Safety Partnership is being resurrected, which will see council officers working with the police, NHS and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and community safety.

A council official said communities may be able to voice concerns about accident hotspots during the rollout of liveable neighbourhood projects.

The meeting also heard that progress is continuing on a road safety working group involving the police and council.

Councillors were told an interactive tool would be used to promote engagement on the matter.

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

Artian Lushaku (Image: Police Scotland)

John Robertson (Image: Police Scotland)

The Glasgow Times has highlighted that already this year, there have been more fatalities on city roads than the whole of last year.

This includes cyclist Emma Burke Newman, killed after being hit by a lorry on Broomielaw in January.

64-year-old John Morton died after being knocked down on Fielden Street on May 29 and John Robertson died after being hit by a bus on June 5, on Argyle Street.

Artian Lushaku, just 13, was struck by a car on Balmore Road and died in hospital a few days later.