The Transport Minister for Scotland has announced that the Scottish Government will invest over £58 million in infrastructure and training to improve safety for cyclists. The announcement came after statistics confirmed that cycling casualties had risen while other road user casualties had fallen. There was also a commitment to improve motorcycle training and encourage all road users to be attentive to the vulnerability of pedestrians.
While a lot is being done to make Scotland’s roads safer for all users there were still 186 deaths on the roads shown in the latest available figures (2011). Serious accidents accounted for 1,875 casualties. Apart from the personal loss and grief, this has enormous financial impact on the emergency services.
Nothing is perfect
In an ideal world our roads would be completely safe for everyone to ride in cars, public transport, bike or walk to their destination. Unfortunately we live in a less than perfect world; therefore there will always be interaction between car users, buses, lorries, cyclists and pedestrians.
The number of casualties and victims of accidents is thankfully an extremely small percentage when compared to the number of vehicle, cycle and pedestrian journeys which are made year on year. However, wherever there is interaction between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians there is the potential for serious and even fatal injury to occur.
Governments may believe they can control everything; however, they cannot. Even with the best will in the world, no matter how safe they try to make our roads, wherever there is human interaction there will be the potential for accidents
Until That Happens…
It is good to see that the Scottish Government has taken moves to improve road safety. The investment that they are making will make a difference to the number of casualties on the roads. In the meantime, there are still accidents happening and the financial implications on a personal level are still very high. If you are seriously injured in an accident on the roads, the chances are you will spend some time in hospital and that can be extremely expensive.
You may be off work for a long time and your finances may suffer considerably. Although governments see the cost to the public purse they don’t really see the personal cost to the people involved. No matter how much they spend on road improvements, just like the personal cost which they seldom see, they will never fully be able to control the free will of how people act, interact and react on the roads.
While insurance will pay for repairs to your vehicle, your loss of income and personal pain and suffering is another matter. If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, do not pay for legal representation out of your own already diminishing pocket, contact a no-win, no-fee solicitor to get the compensation that you deserve.
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