The UK government has launched its first comprehensive road safety strategy in over ten years, setting an ambitious target to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on Britain's roads by 65% by the year 2035. The new proposals, announced by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, represent a significant shift in policy following a decade where progress on reducing road casualties had largely stalled.
Core Measures: From Technology to Tougher Penalties
The strategy encompasses a wide range of measures designed to protect all road users. A central proposal is a consultation on lowering the drink-drive limit in England and Wales, which has remained at 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath since 1967. The government is considering aligning it with Scotland's stricter limit of 22 micrograms, established in 2014.
Other key penalties include doubling fines for uninsured drivers and introducing penalty points for not wearing a seatbelt. For convicted drink-drivers, the use of an 'alcolock'—a device that prevents a vehicle from starting without a passed breath test—could become mandatory for regaining a licence.
Focus on Drivers and Vehicle Safety
The plan addresses risks across a driver's lifetime. Young and new drivers may face a mandatory three-to-six-month learning period to gain experience in diverse conditions like night driving and heavy traffic. For the growing number of older motorists, the government will propose mandatory eyesight tests every three years for those over 70, with potential cognitive assessments also under review.
In a major step for vehicle safety, all new cars sold in Britain will be required to have Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB). This technology, which automatically slows a vehicle when a collision is imminent, is already widely available and mandatory in Europe. This change will be known as Dev's Law, in memory of eight-year-old Dev Naran, whose mother Meera Naran MBE has campaigned tirelessly for the measure since her son's death in a motorway collision in 2018.
A Response to a 'Lost Decade' in Safety
The strategy comes as official data shows that while road deaths have fallen since the 1970s, the rate of improvement slowed dramatically around 2010. The Department for Transport notes that 22 European countries have made better progress than the UK since that time. On average, four people are still killed and 76 seriously injured on British roads every day.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated: "Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy that devastates families and communities. For too long, progress on road safety has stalled. This strategy marks a turning point." She emphasised that the measures aim to save thousands of lives over the coming decade.
Road safety and motoring organisations have welcomed the proposals. Edmund King, President of the AA, called it "a positively radical reframing of road safety which is long overdue." Nicholas Lyes of IAM RoadSmart said it addressed a "lost decade" in reducing casualties, while the RAC's Rod Dennis stressed the need for the strategy to quickly evolve into concrete actions.
The government will also seek to update international crash testing regulations to better account for the effects on different body types, moving beyond the standard dummy based on a 75kg man.
