Readers may remember Reporting Scotland Down’s confident claim, in August, that:

‘Scotland has the highest level of distracted drivers in the UK!’

TuS, statistical officer, Minnie Robertson (14) said at the time:

‘Another schoolgirl error by our so-called Scottish journalists. There were more arrests of mobile phone users while driving in Scotland because Police Scotland officers are paying more attention, as they should, to the offence. Duuuh! Does Scotland have the most distracted journalists in the UK?’

Minnie’s grandad, of Letterkenny, Donegal, was heard to mutter:

‘Ah, she has a sharp tongue in her hayad.’

So, RSU feels obliged to add a question mark to the headline claim above based on evidence from the answer to this Holyrood question by John Finnie on Tuesday (Greens):

To ask the Scottish Government how many drivers of heavy goods vehicles have been charged with exceeding the speed limit on the (a) trunk and (b) non-trunk road network in each of the last three years?

The answer and the data below do seem to suggest a slowing down of Scots drivers:

James Wolffe QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) can provide the total number of speeding charges reported to COPFS in each of the last 3 years only. It is not possible to provide data on how many of these charges relate to drivers of heavy goods vehicles nor to break down the charges by road type. COPFS does not hold data in relation to the numbers of persons separately offered a Fixed Penalty by Police Scotland in relation to speeding charges.

Click to access WA20191008.pdf