I’m a serious injury lawyer, what can we expect next for the Road Safety Strategy?

Matthew Tomlinson, head of serious injury (North) shares his insight into the road safety strategy, and what changes we can expect over the next few months.

“A number of consultations are currently underway, or in their final weeks following the publication of the Road Safety Strategy, covering areas such as new and younger drivers, older drivers and motoring offences.

“With the aim of a 65% reduction in causalities and serious injuries on Great Britain’s roads by 2035, and a 70% reduction in the number of casualties and serious injuries of children aged under 16; the strategy is a timely step to address and improve national concern. Currently, an average of four people die on our roads each day and thousands of people injured every year.

“Northern Ireland revealed at the start of the year that new road safety measures will come into place from October 2026. I expect that many of the changes proposed for Great Britain will closely mirror such reforms; for example, further minimum learning periods and passenger restrictions for new drivers.

“There have been growing calls to implement GDLs, Graduated Driver Licensing, as similar to Northern Ireland, despite this not being mentioned in the strategy; but could play a significant role to reducing road incidents for inexperienced drivers.

“Another key strategic area is the introduction of mandatory eye tests for drivers over 70. Over the last four years, almost 33,000 car drivers have had their driving licences revoked for failing to meet legal eyesight standards.”

“Further areas also unveil the newest chapter for road safety that embarks on ambitious plans around technology and data innovation, with the mandate of vehicle safety technologies, safer road infrastructure and safety feature testing.”

“In addition, we will also see tougher action to driver behaviour, with lower drink driving limits, tougher penalties and seal belt non-compliance. We are unfortunately experiencing a time where danger and risk taking is becoming more common, and we cannot allow for such flaws in safety to drivers, passengers and other road users.

“The latest development in government plans to road safety saw at the end of March a £27 billion strategy to improve our major roads which will further such road safety strategies, where £8.4 billion will strengthen structures and road surfaces as well as modernising roadside technologies.”

“As lawyers, we see the life changing impact that road collisions can have on individuals and families. The new Road Safety Strategy has the potential to be truly transformative, placing safety at the forefront for all drivers, regardless of experience, and helping people feel safer, more confident and more responsible on the road.

“I hope that by improving standards, tougher action and enhanced learning opportunities can prevent such incidents occurring.”