THE increase in traffic accidents in Scotland is becoming a greater risk to public safety as almost 1,000 collisions were reported over Edinburgh and the Lothians last year.
The House of Commons released a report last week revealing that 972 accidents were reported across nine constituencies in Edinburgh and the Lothians last year resulting in 305 serious injuries and 12 fatalities in the area.
The report includes all collisions resulting in injury that were reported to the police within 30 days. Each casualty is ranked to be either slight, serious or fatal depending on the severity of the injury.
With 177 collisions in the most crash-prone area of the capital and 69 in the “safest”, the full list makes for informative reading for the average Edinburgh motorist.
Photo by Musa Haef on Unsplash
1. Edinburgh West – Covering areas including South Queensferry, Dalmeny, Drylaw, Dalry, Saughton, Ratho and Barnton, Edinburgh West had a total of 177 collisions last year. Three of these were fatalities, 38 were serious accidents and 136 were slight injuries. The three fatalities included one pedestrian, one car passenger and one cyclist, who was under the age of 18. The accident rates for this constituency have increased by almost 40% since 2023 and it remains the most collision-prone area in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
2. Edinburgh South West – Last year there were 123 reported traffic incidents in areas like Gorgie, Slateford and Wester Hailes. This number is made up of 84 slight casualties, 34 serious casualties and 3 fatalities. Car occupants make up 87 of the reported injuries and the remaining collisions involved cyclists and pedestrians.
3. Edinburgh North and Leith – With 111 reported casualties in 2024, Edinburgh North and Leith had one fatality, 28 serious casualties and 82 slight casualties. The one fatality and 31 of the injuries were involving pedestrians making this area the most dangerous for pedestrians. Another 28 of the casualties were involving cyclists and the report rates for Edinburgh North and Leith have also increased since 2023.
4. Edinburgh East and Musselburgh – Including areas such as Portobello, Lochend and Old Town, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh have two pedestrian fatalities reported as part of their 110 total casualty figure. A further 29 casualties were inflicted upon cyclists and 32 on car occupants.
5. Edinburgh South – With 98 reported injuries, Edinburgh South had 25 serious casualties and 73 slight casualties, however no recorded fatalities. Including areas such as Marchmont, Morningside, Bruntsfield and Comiston, 47 of the casualties were car occupants and 14 were pedestrians. There has been a 25% collision increase in Edinburgh South since 2023.
6. Bathgate and Linlithgow – Just outside Edinburgh, in 2024 Bathgate and Linlithgow had a total of 97 casualties. This figure includes two fatalities, one pedestrian and one car occupant, and a further six casualties involving cyclists. This constituency has a continuously decreasing rate of reported traffic accidents, having gone down by over 27% since 2019.
7. Midlothian – Last year, Midlothian saw 95 traffic collisions, including 35 serious casualties and 60 slight casualties. Covering areas such as Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik, Midlothian had 5 serious injuries involving motorcyclists and a further 18 involving car occupants. There were no fatalities in this constituency in 2024 – however, 12 of these 35 casualties were involving children aged 17 or under.
8. Livingston – Livingston had 92 recorded collisions in 2024 – of which there were 32 serious casualties and 60 slight casualties. 70 of the injuries were involving car occupants, 18 being serious casualties and 52 being slight casualties. Livingston has a decreasing traffic accident rate as it has went down by 31% since 2022.
9. East Lothian – East Lothian has the lowest traffic collision rate in all of Edinburgh and the Lothians with only 69 reported accidents in 2024. This number includes one fatality of a motorbike rider under the age of 25 as well as five serious pedestrian casualties. The number of traffic casualties in East Lothian has dropped significantly over the past 20 years down from 239 in 2004. It could be argued that the decrease in accidents was caused by recent speed restrictions being put in place.
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