A new road safety course has been launched by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Scotland, with the aim of educating businesses on best practice to reduce risk for fleet operators.

Training for dedicated road safety officers is being provided by the group as part of ongoing efforts to reduce the number of serious incidents being reported each year on the nation's roads.

Sandy Allan, RoSPA's road safety manager in Scotland, commented: "Road safety has been delivered by professionals for a great number of years, yet there has, until now, never been a recognised industry standard qualification.

"The introduction of this training programme is the ideal opportunity for those now assuming responsibility for road safety in Scotland to equip their staff with the necessary skills."

Launched this week (June 19th) at the Royal Highland Show and accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the course comprises of five core units covering topics such as priority road users, road casualty profiling and evaluation.

It is targeted at higher tier practitioners and aims to give them the necessary skills to reduce road casualty statistics in their area.

Scottish transport minister Keith Brown welcomed the launch of the new training and stated that "one life lost on Scotland’s roads is one too many".

It is therefore imperative that businesses take their road safety and fleet management responsibilities seriously, by encouraging staff to focus on best practice at all times when out on the roads.

This means always being fully aware of what is going on around their vehicle and keeping their eyes peeled for vulnerable road users.

Other best practice tips to reduce casualty statistics from RoSPA include sticking to speed limits at all times and taking regular breaks to avoid fatigue.

Indeed, figures published by the organisation show that speed is a factor in around 13 per cent of all collisions that result in injury on the UK's roads, while tiredness could be a contributory factor in up to 20 per cent of all cases.