Overview
- The Department for Transport has opened consultations through March 31 on options including a minimum learning period, lower drink-drive limits, mandatory eyesight tests for drivers over 70, tougher seatbelt penalties and licence suspensions.
- Ministers are consulting on requiring 18 safety technologies in new vehicles under the GB Type Approval Scheme, including autonomous emergency braking known as “Dev’s Law,” with officials estimating over 14,000 deaths and serious injuries could be prevented across 15 years.
- The strategy proposes a Road Safety Board to oversee delivery and a new Road Safety Investigation Branch to study serious collisions and recommend system-wide improvements.
- The plan pledges £24 billion for motorway and local road improvements between 2026 and 2030 alongside updated guidance on speed limits, camera enforcement and road markings.
- Regional leaders in Merseyside and the West Midlands have endorsed the framework, while insurers and telematics firms are urging ministers to mandate telematics for newly qualified drivers during their first two years.