A mother's tireless campaign for safer roads, sparked by the tragic death of her eight-year-old son, has achieved a major victory with the UK government's new road safety strategy. Meera Naran's son, Dev, was killed in a motorway collision in 2018, a loss that has now directly inspired new legislation known as 'Dev's Law'.
A Tragedy That Sparked a Lifelong Campaign
The devastating incident occurred on the M6 in 2018. Dev's grandfather was driving him home from visiting his older brother, Neel, in hospital. Their car stopped on what would have been a hard shoulder, but the section was operating as a 'smart motorway'. A lorry collided with the stationary vehicle, killing Dev instantly. His grandfather later died from injuries sustained in the crash, and Neel, who had complex health needs, passed away in 2024 after struggling profoundly with the loss of his 'best friend and cheerleader'.
From this profound personal tragedy, Meera Naran, a 42-year-old senior lecturer in clinical pharmacy at De Montfort University, channelled her grief into action. She began campaigning for changes to smart motorway policy but soon broadened her focus to a critical factor in the crash: vehicle safety technology.
The Push for Mandatory Life-Saving Technology
Naran's campaign centred on making advanced driver-assistance systems, specifically autonomous emergency braking (AEB), compulsory in all new vehicles. This technology alerts a driver to an impending collision and automatically applies the brakes if no action is taken. "Had the lorry involved had autonomous braking, that collision could potentially have been avoided completely," Naran stated, highlighting the core mission of her work.
Her evidence-based approach, separating raw emotion from hard data, gained significant traction. The newly announced government strategy, which aims to slash road deaths by 2035, now includes a pledge to mandate such safety tech in new vehicles—a measure officially dubbed 'Dev's Law' in her son's memory.
A Strategy Built on Evidence and Experience
Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood acknowledged that the strategy was "built on evidence, but it is driven by the voices of those who have experienced the devastating consequences of road collisions first-hand." She paid tribute to Naran for working "tirelessly in memory of her son Dev to champion life-saving technologies."
For Naran, the government's commitment is a crucial step, but her work is far from over. "For me it’s going to be a lifelong campaign to reduce road deaths," she said. "I don’t want any other family to go through what we have." She described her drive as something "bigger than my grief," a mission to ensure her son's legacy saves countless other lives on Britain's roads.
