The Scottish Conservatives have accused the Scottish government of using 20mph speed limits as "a ploy against drivers" after figures showed more injury-causing crashes occurred on such roads than on 40mph, 50mph or 70mph routes. The row comes as Scotland spends over £10 million rolling out 20mph limits across thousands of roads, a policy ministers say is intended to improve safety in built-up areas, putting the scheme's effectiveness under political scrutiny.

Scottish government figures show 570 injury-causing crashes on 20mph roads last year, a five-year high, compared with 254 on 40mph roads, 165 on 50mph roads and 268 on 70mph dual carriageways. Tory transport spokesman Tim Eagle argued councils should be free to set their own tailored speed restrictions rather than face a "one-size-fits-all" approach imposed by the SNP, and called instead for investment in dualling roads such as the A96. Transport Scotland defended the policy, citing £41 million in road safety investment this year and research suggesting pedestrians are seven times more likely to survive being hit at 20mph than at 30mph; separately, the government last year dropped plans to cut the 60mph limit on single carriageways to 50mph.