Police attend thousands of road incidents each year

The target for reducing the overall number of casualties by 2000 was not reached, only falling by 25%.

However, the one-third reduction target for fatalities was met after a decrease of 49%, as was the target for serious injuries - with a drop of 57% from the early 1980s.

The executive said the targets were met despite a 54% increase in the number of vehicles over the same period.

The report reveals:

• There were 20,451 casualties from 15,075 accidents

• Of those accidents 12,618 involved private car users and 3,595 pedestrians.

However, comparative figures suggest that while the overall road casualty rate was 27% lower than in England and Wales, the fatal casualty rate was 14% higher over the period 1996-2000.

The report also gives a longer-term picture, showing that between 1950 and 2000, about 31,800 people were killed and 1.3 million injured in accidents on Scotland's roads.

Sarah Boyack said progress was being made

Transport minister Sarah Boyack said the figures showed progress was being made on road safety issues, and she welcomed the achievement of the fatal and serious injury targets for 2000.

She said: "Compared with other countries in Western Europe and elsewhere, Scotland now has the second lowest road death rate for casualties of all ages and the sixth lowest for child casualties.

"Significant progress has been made in making our roads safer despite considerable increases in the volume of traffic."