Road accidents and crash casualties in Fife reached a record low last year, it has been revealed.
Members of the local authority’s community safety committee were informed by transportation chiefs that, in addition to Fife road accident figures being at an “all-time low”, the region had exceeded the Scottish Government’s national casualty-reduction targets.
In total there were 411 recorded road crashes in Fife last year, down from 421 in 2013.
The number of casualties in Fife in 2014 was 528 surpassing the previous record low of 549 in 2012 while 2014 also saw the lowest rate of child casualties, which, at 37, was down by 13 from the previous year.
Out of those figures, one was fatal, four were serious and one was classed as “slight”.
Road accidents involving bicycles were also down “significantly” in 2014, compared to the previous year.
According to the report, the majority of crashes on the Kingdom’s roads were caused by the driver failing to look properly.
The report’s author, transportation and environment lead professional Steve Sellars, said a number of effective road safety initiatives, such as Safe Drive Stay Alive and Pass Plus, had contributed to the reduced statistics.
“It can be seen that the combination of all the work currently being undertaken in Fife is delivering reduced numbers of crashes and casualties,” he said.
“Through the activities of road safety partners, continued, targeted efforts will be made in the areas of engineering, education and encouragement and enforcement with the aim of further reducing casualties.
“We will continue to analyse the statistics to identify trends in order for future initiatives to be targeted at groups and locations where problems are pinpointed.”
Welcoming the report, Dr Bob McLellan, head of Fife Council’s transportation and environment department, said: “We’re ensuring Fife’s roads are as safe as possible.”