Michael McDonnell presented with MBE for services to road safety

Michael McDonnell, director of Road Safety Scotland, has seen his distinguished career recognised with the award of an MBE.

Michael began his career as a primary school teacher before gaining a Diploma in Theology and a Degree in Divinity. His career in road safety began as a local road safety officer with Strathclyde Regional Council before joining RoSPA as road safety manager (Scotland).

He was the longest serving member of the Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) before taking up the post of director in 2004. One of his early contributions to the new role was to change the name of the organisation from the Scottish Road Safety Campaign to Road Safety Scotland in 2005.

In a LinkedIn post celebrating the accolade, Road Safety Scotland said Michael’s time as director has been packed with highlights and challenges. 

A big achievement has been shifting campaigns to focus more on psychological behaviour change techniques.

Michael said: “What we discovered was that showing people gory visuals of accidents and injuries didn’t change their behaviour, so it was important to use proven behaviour change models to bring about the changes we wanted to achieve. 

“Very often, the fear of being caught, a fine, points on your licence and increased insurance premiums were a greater threat and more likely to trigger the desired behaviours.”

Michael was directly involved in the development and implementation of Scotland’s Road Safety Framework initially to 2020 and then similarly the renewed Framework to 2030. The Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a compelling and ambitious long-term vision for road safety, Vision Zero, for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world, where no one is seriously injured or killed on Scotland’s roads by 2050.

Road Safety Scotland says Michael’s motto – “you need to work on the basis of having something to do, rather than having to do something” – has served him well.

The organisation adds: “He is a big believer in doing what works, rather than just doing something because people like it. This is where the change happens and that’s never been more obvious than in the work he has achieved, with campaigns such as Live fast, die old – aimed at motorcyclists.”

Road Safety GB would like to congratulate Michael on the thoroughly deserved recognition.

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