This week (7 January) the government announced its first road safety strategy in over a decade, with a plan to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.
The DfT Road Safety Strategy’s ambition to cut deaths and serious injuries by 65% is one we fully support. Education, early intervention, and lifelong learning must sit at the heart of this approach. Modeshift looks forward to continuing our work with Members and stakeholders to feed into the guidance, pilots, and consultations that follow.
Our Modeshift STARS schemes align perfectly with the plan to develop a lifelong learning framework that covers people at different stages of life across various modes of travel. We particularly welcome plans to develop a National Work-Related Road Safety Charter which we will aim to recognise in our STARS Business and STARS Healthcare accreditation schemes. This will ensure that organisations are supported and motivated to act on enhancing everyday journeys by ensuring people feel safe when travelling.
The first road safety strategy in more than a decade will save thousands of lives on the nation’s roads by tackling drink driving, improving training for young drivers and introducing mandatory eye tests for older motorists.
The strategy sets out an ambitious plan to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, with an even more stretching target of 70% for children under 16.
Approximately 4 people die on Britain’s roads every day, with thousands more seriously injured each year, but through targeted action on speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing seat belts and mobile phone use, thousands of these tragedies can be prevented.
The government will consult on lowering the drink drive limit in England and Wales, which has remained unchanged since 1967 and is currently the highest in Europe.
In 2023, 1 in 6 road fatalities involved drink driving, but a consultation will explore 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.
This could mean that, in future, some drink drive offenders might be required to have one of these devices fitted to their vehicle as a condition of being allowed to drive again.
Inexperience behind the wheel is costing lives. Drivers aged 17 to 24 represent just 6% of licence holders but are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions. To address this, the government will consult on introducing a 3 or 6-month minimum learning period, giving learner drivers more time to develop their skills in varied conditions, such as night driving, adverse weather and heavy traffic.
With the number of older drivers continuing to rise as Britain’s population ages, a consultation on mandatory eyesight testing for those over 70 will be launched, while options for cognitive testing will also be developed to protect all road users.
New measures will also target the growing problem of illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ plates designed to fool camera systems, while also cracking down on uninsured drivers and vehicles without a valid MOT.
For the full article visit: Thousands of lives to be saved under bold new Road Safety Strategy – GOV.UK
