Tourists in Scotland are being urged to stick a new ‘T-plate’ on their cars after crashes caused by drivers forgetting to keep left surged by almost 50 per cent.
The T-plates look a lot like the learner ‘L’ plates or the green ‘P’ plates new drivers use. Instead of an L or P, they have a bold green T with the word tourist underneath.
The idea came from hotel owner Robert Marshall in Kingussie, who thought of it after a nightmare driving experience in Tenerife where he kept ending up on the wrong side of the road. He says the plates help other drivers realise that the car ahead might need a bit more patience.
And the need is real. Transport Scotland revealed earlier this year that crashes caused by people unused to driving on the left shot up 46 percent in 2023. One of those collisions was fatal.
Most overseas visitors to Scotland come from Europe or the US, countries where you drive on the right, so the problem is not going away anytime soon.
Marshall, who launched a website selling the plates in 2023, told BBC Radio Scotland:
"Just reaching roundabouts, junctions, just starting the journey initially - I was on the wrong side of the road, every control and dial was in a different place - and I just was screaming at my partner, "I wish these people knew I was a tourist."'
"It's a simple idea but it's one that's really started conversations about road safety."
Road safety campaigner Laura Hanser has tested the plates on Scottish roads. She said drivers do seem to back off once they see the T, giving more space and time.
The stats back up the need. In 2023 there were 35 crashes linked to tourists forgetting to keep left, up from 24 in 2022. Sadly, Scotland has also seen several deadly crashes involving visiting drivers, including the deaths of three US tourists on the A9 in 2022, and a tragic A96 crash the same year that killed five people.
