8th January 2026
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Summary
Department for Transport’s (DfT) new Road Safety Strategy:
- Aims by 2035 to reduce reported numbers Killed and Seriously Injured (KSIs) by 65% and child KSIs by 70%.
- Continues to be based on the Safe Systems approach and thus design out danger so that human error does not result in death or serious injury.
- Focuses on training and actions which will reduce harm posed to motor vehicle users than people walking and cycling.
- Is accompanied by five consultations covering driver training, eyesight testing, motorcycle rider training, motoring offences and vehicle safety standards.
- The motoring offence consultation proposes to introduce interim disqualifications for some offences, and toughen penalties for others but does not address speeding offences.
- AVZ will respond to the consultations and continue to advocate for priority for reducing the harm posed to people walking, wheeling and cycling.
So DfT has finally published its long-awaited road safety strategy. Arguably the best thing about is its ambitious casualty reduction targets. By 2035, it aims to reduce the number of people reported killed and seriously injured (KSIs) on Great Britain’s roads by 65% and child KSIs by 70%. DfT’s last road safety plan, published in 2019, did not contain any targets so these targets are welcomed.
These are very ambitious goals for a ten-year period, especially considering the lack of progress over the previous decade (and longer), and the challenge of an increasingly wider range of transport modes from micromobility to bigger cars (SUVs) and autonomous vehicles.
AVZ believes these tough targets will require more radical actions than those included in the strategy. Too much of the strategy involves preparatory steps. In addition to the five consultations published with the strategy, many of the commitments in the strategy are preliminary in nature and involve such actions as “gather feedback, explore, review, consider”, etc. Concrete actions will be needed, including with reducing traffic and motor vehicle speed. AVZ has reviewed many road safety strategies and never seen one mention speed as little as this one. Urban road safety strategies from across the UK have focused far more on the need to reduce vehicle speeds.
The strategy’s 31 commitments are organised into four themes. Theme 1: Supporting road users has 11 commitments that include consultations into drink drive limits and eyesight testing. But much is focused on training of novice drivers and motorcyclists and education. This is despite the Safe Systems acknowledgement that human error is inevitable, and the transport system much reduce the risk of that error proving fatal or even serious injury.
Theme 2: Taking advantage of technology, data and innovation for safer vehicles and post collision care has 9 commitments, including the consultation into the much-needed vehicle safety standards which includes Intelligent Speed Limitation (ISA). Establishing a data-led Road Safety Investigation Branch is also featured here but this will be limited by the lack of any commitment to improve police collision investigations and ensure an accurate database. The crash testing commitment is unfortunately limited to vehicle occupants.
Theme 3: Ensuring infrastructure is safe has just 4 commitments. But at least one is the updating of the Setting Local Speed Limits guidance, another long awaited and key intervention required to reduce risk to all road users.
Theme 4: Robust enforcement to protect all road users has 10 commitments but again these are aimed at motor vehicle occupants. The focus is on drink driving, seat belts, and uninsured driving, not speeding or careless driving—the offences which are critical for walkers and cyclists. There is no mention of Operation Snap, despite the strategy acknowledging that more needed to be done to make the Highway Code’s Road Hierarchy function in practice.
The Motoring Offence Consultation does ask about introducing an interim licence suspension for those arrested for drink/drug driving as well as causing death/serious injury by driving. Dangerous driving was not mentioned but will be in our response. Likewise, we will also advocate that, in addition to tougher penalties for uninsured driving, the government should also increase the penalties for speeding, last updated ten years ago. Such measures will be needed if the numbers of KSIs are to reduce as intended by the strategy.
AVZ had also urged that this should be a joint strategy, in partnership with the police, as is the case with many of the local/regional plans. This did not happen but it does highlight the need for partnership and collaboration by other agencies, including the police.
AVZ Conclusions:
- The strategy is old fashioned in being firmly road safety based with actions principally focused on reducing the harm posed to motor vehicle occupants by drivers. Those most likely to be hurt by drink driving and non-seat belt compliance are the offender driver themselves. The strategy gives little priority to reducing harm posed to people on the outside of motor vehicles, despite their both facing disproportionate risk and being encouraged to travel more by government.
- The 10-year casualty reduction targets are ambitious and will require more actions than those proposed by the strategy. AVZ sees this as requiring for more measures which will reduce harm posed to people walking, wheeling and cycling (who made up 31% of fatalities in 2024 and 34% of all reported KSIs).
- AVZ had advocated for the strategy to be based on road danger reduction and thus acknowledge the need to reduce driving as well as make it safer. There is no link with higher transport strategies and decarbonisation aims. We called for it to prioritise reducing the harm posed by drivers to people walking and cycling, including with adopting the perception of safety as a key indicator. We will continue to call for these, including in our consultation responses.
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