What Gets Counted, Gets Done — Ending the Blind Spots in Road Safety Data





A recent exchange with Police Scotland has revealed a quiet but serious gap in how road safety offences are tracked and tackled. When cyclists are stopped for riding without lights in darkness — a clear hazard to themselves and others — officers often rely on their discretion, issuing only a verbal warning rather than recording the offence formally. These incidents are then noted only in individual officers’ notebooks, never entering the electronic systems that guide police resources, public safety strategy, or government policy.

This issue isn’t limited to cycling. Common road dangers like vehicles obstructing pavements or access, parking on blind bends or junctions, driving on pavements, and antisocial vehicle use are all often handled informally and left unrecorded. As the great quality management pioneer Edwards Deming taught: “What gets measured, gets managed.” If an offence isn’t recorded, it isn’t counted — and if it isn’t counted, it simply doesn’t get the attention it deserves. I call for the end of this blind spot: for all road safety risks, from cyclists without lights to cars blocking access, to be formally logged whether or not a ticket or fine is issued. Only with honest and complete data can we make the roads genuinely safer for everyone.

And I wonder what other areas of Scotish offences are masked through this process and are commonly dismissed as too expensive to research when raised in a FOI from Police Scotland?


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