Yesterday (7 January 2026), the Government published its new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade.
The new strategy is designed to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, with a target of 70% reduction for children under 16.
The reforms proposed in the strategy will be built around a 'Safe System' approach that aims to ensure that the road and vehicle environment should be designed to protect people as much as possible. It is based on five pillars: safe roads and roadsides, safe road users, safe speeds, safe vehicles and post-crash response.
Safe road users
In an effort to improve road user safety, the Government has made commitments to improve safety for vulnerable road users, specifically pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and children. As part of this, it has set out proposals, on which it is consulting.
The consultations are:
- On whether young and new drivers should be required to undertake a 3 to 6 month minimum learning period to allow them to develop skills in varied conditions such as night driving, adverse weather and heavy traffic; and
- On mandatory eyesight testing for those over 70 and cognitive testing for older drivers should be introduced to reduce the number of incidents involving older drivers.
It appears that those over 70 who fail to present proof of passing an eye test would not be able to renew their licences. If they continued to drive, they would be at risk of prosecution for driving without a licence or insurance.
Safe roads and speeds
Accident frequency remain a significant problem. The four main contributing factors that the strategy seeks to combat are:
- Speeding;
- People not wearing seat belts;
- Mobile phone use; and
- Drink and drug driving.
To combat unsafe driving behaviours and non-compliance, the Government is consulting on increasing a number of penalties for the following road traffic violations:
- Fines would be doubled for uninsured drivers;
- New measures would be implemented to target the use of illegal number plates and vehicles without a valid MOT;
- In addition to the current fines, failure to wear seatbelts (by the driver or any passenger under 14 years old) would now result in penalty points against the driver of a vehicle.
The consultation also seeks views on lowering the drink drive limit in England and Wales and the use of preventative technology, such as alcohol interlock devices and new powers to suspend driving licences for those suspected of drink or drug driving offences.
Safe vehicles and post-crash response
The strategy also includes a consultation that would require vehicle manufacturers to equip new vehicles with 18 new vehicle safety technologies, including autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance. Failure to do so would deprive a vehicle of GB type approval, making it illegal to sell in Britain, and therefore uninsurable. This would ensure drivers and road users in Great Britain benefit from access to these cutting-edge technologies and support growth.
The strategy's emphasis on harnessing data will assist in improving enforcement and post-collision assistance, which is likely to reduce claims friction and costs.
Comment
We fully supported the Government's proposals to improve road safety when they were initially unveiled last year. With the publication of the strategy, we approve of the Government's finalised plans.
Increasing penalties for dangerous and uninsured driving will help to deter these bad behaviours that increase costs for insurers and policy holders, as well as reducing the number of those killed and seriously injured on our roads.
We are encouraged by the Government's intention to improve the competence of learner drivers. Graduated driving licences have led to significant improvements in road safety in the jurisdictions where they have been adopted. The current proposals are a step in the right direction, though they do not go far enough to see the safety benefits that can result from adoption of a full graduated driving licence system.
We have long championed a 'safety-first' approach and the use of safety-focused technology, and we are pleased to see this now being prioritised.
The measures that the Government announced yesterday align with its commitment to reducing the cost of motor insurance, in line with the Motor Insurance Taskforce report, improving driver behaviour and promoting vehicle and road safety.
A significant number of changes to road and vehicle regulations will potentially arise from this new strategy, which will be of interest to motor insurers and their customers. Our Strategic Advisory Team will closely monitor developments. If you would like to speak with us about these, please get in touch.
