John Swinney challenged to tackle boy racers who 'abuse and intimidate' public
John Swinney has been urged to tackle boy racers who "abuse and intimidate" members of the public.
The First Minister was asked by Alex Cole-Hamilton to "to establish a national taskforce" to stop "racing and antisocial behaviour".
The Scottish Lib Dem leader raised the issue during First Minister's Questions at Holyrood on Thursday.
It followed a collision outside a party meeting in South Queensferry on Wednesday night, where residents "have had their quality of life destroyed".
Swinney said he would "have discussions with Mr Cole-Hamilton" on the subject.
He added that "there may be some legislative issues that may be worth considering."
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Cole-Hamilton said: “Presiding Officer, last night I chaired a packed town hall meeting in South Queensferry.
“For four years, my constituents have had their quality of life destroyed by hundreds of high performance, illegally modified cars and motorbikes racing around their beautiful town.
“The drivers of these vehicles will abuse and intimidate anyone who approaches them where they gather, in the car park at the foot of the iconic Forth Bridge. Pets have been killed, hotels have lost trade, nobody is getting any sleep.
“Residents like pensioner Andy Scott are really worried about road safety.
“In fact, just as our meeting was concluding, there was a collision right outside our venue with a motorcyclist rushed to hospital. Police are appealing for information about that.
“The racing and antisocial behaviour is happening in Inverness, parts of Glasgow, Crail, many other areas.
“Will the First Minister meet with me and agree to establish a national taskforce to establish and examine what more can be done to address this criminal behaviour that is blighting so many lives?”
Swinney responded: "First of all, I am very sorry to hear the circumstances in South Queensferry. It is a beautiful part of our country, an iconic location, and I'm sorry that members of the public are experiencing what they are experiencing.
"The Government obviously engages substantially on the question of road safety. The transport minister has been briefing cabinet about her concerns about road fatalities which is a very serious and current problem.
"That issue is very much on the Cabinet Secretary's agenda.
"I am very happy to have discussions with Mr Cole-Hamilton on this subject and to determine what further action can be taken.
"Obviously the incident that Mr Cole-Hamilton has raised last night will involve police interaction and I'm sure the police will have been involved in other instances of this kind.
"I'm very happy to host those discussions to see what more can be done to address that situation.
"There may be some legislative issues that may be worth considering. I fear some of those will not be within our areas of responsibility because of road traffic issues, but I'm very happy to explore all possibilities."
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