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Britain’s road safety deficit – 14 years of wasted opportunities and complacency

Posted on by darion

In a new article, David Ward, Executive Chairman of Global NCAP and the Towards Zero Foundation, explains why a change of government provides a “good opportunity to reinvigorate the UK’s failing road safety policy”.

HM Treasury is warning of a £20bn budget shortfall, but the challenges facing Sir Keir Starmer’s new government are not just financial.

There are also huge performance deficits, especially in road safety. Road deaths in the UK almost halved in the first decade of this century, but progress has stalled since then. We suffer 30,000 deaths and serious injuries a year – the equivalent of destroying an average-sized city every year. The suffering and pain inflicted on so many families is unimaginable, but the social and economic costs amount to a staggering $43.5 billion a year.

If the progress made to 2010 had been maintained, at least 40,000 deaths and serious injuries would have been avoided (1). This is the scale of 14 years of wasted opportunity and complacency in road safety in the UK. Sadly, we have also failed to maintain our global leadership in preventing road injuries. Since 2012, twenty-five countries have overtaken the UK in reducing road fatalities

I have worked in road safety for thirty years and have advocated cross-party support for evidence-based policies. Road safety ministers from both main parties have been involved, but unfortunately consensus on road safety policy has struggled to be maintained over the last 14 years. In 2009, the Department for Transport (DfT) issued an ambitious consultation paper on how to make Britain’s roads the safest in the world.(2) ‘A Safer Way’, published by Jim Fitzpatrick, then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, set out proposals for moving towards a ‘system’ of road safety, where we seek to anticipate human error and protect through safer road and vehicle design and by improving the skills of each and every one of us. This approach was in line with growing international support for a ‘safe systems’ approach to injury prevention.(3)

Sadly, the coalition government elected in 2010 ignored this emerging consensus. In 2011, a new strategic framework was published which dropped the ambitious targets for reducing casualties. Instead, Philip Hammond, the new Secretary of State for Transport, prioritised ‘education and training over more bureaucracy, targets and regulation’. This was a step back towards the discredited ‘blame the victim’ policy, rather than the integrated plan for safer roads, safer vehicles and safer road users envisaged in A Safer Way.

The only innovation in the coalition government’s strategy was to encourage ‘localism’ by giving local authorities greater responsibility for improving road safety. However, important potential for local leadership in road safety has been wasted due to austerity. Core funding for local authorities has been cut since 2010 (4), hampering efforts to maintain roads and repair potholes, let alone improve local road safety. At the same time, the cuts have also devastated traffic police. According to the Police Federation, the number of traffic police officers fell by 22% between 2010 and 2014, and then by 18% between 2015 and 2019 (5).

In 2020, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary warned of the impact of an estimated 34% reduction in traffic patrols and called for improvements that were “not optional” (6). The public share their view. In 2022, a poll by Auto Express found that 83% of drivers wanted to see more traffic patrols (7). In response, the Home Office included traffic patrols in its Strategic Policing Framework in 2023, but the long-delayed review announced by the DfT in 2020 has still not been published. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that in July the DfT reported that the central assessment of drink-driving fatalities was the highest since 2009. This clearly shows how the 2011 shift to “education and training” unsupported by enforcement was a predictable failure.

The DfT’s biased anti-regulatory stance in 2011 has also hampered progress on vehicle safety in the UK. Unfortunately, the Brexit referendum result in 2016 has made this political situation even worse. Previously, the UK had prided itself on leading the way in improving vehicle safety through the European Union (EU) type-approval system, which sets safety and emissions regulations. In the late 1990s, we were a strong advocate of new crash test standards, and the DfT was a founding member of the European New Car Assessment Programme (8). Together, these initiatives have halved the number of occupant fatalities.

In 2018, then-Prime Minister Theresa May promised that after Brexit, “UK and EU regulatory standards will remain broadly similar in the future” (9). Since our exit from the EU on 31saint In January 2020, the government established the “GB Type Approval” (10) system, and its regulatory content was initially identical to the existing European requirements. Unfortunately, this alignment did not last long. In search of “Brexit opportunities”, the previous government did not adopt new regulations for safety technologies that have been currently installed in vehicles across the EU for 6t July 2022 (11).

The General Safety Regulation (GSR) includes the phased introduction of autonomous emergency braking (AEB), intelligent speed assistance (ISA), improved crash testing standards and improved visibility for trucks. The life-saving potential of these measures has a convincing evidence base. According to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the package will deliver greater safety benefits than the introduction of seat belts. TRL estimates that it could prevent 1,762 deaths and 15,000 injuries in the UK over the next 15 years and deliver £7 billion in net economic benefits. This is why a cross-party group of former road safety ministers called on the government to implement the GSR in 2022.(12) Currently, only 1,000 vehicles are sold in the UK that comply with the GSR. This is because manufacturers incur costs in reducing the quality of their vehicles, as over 60% of their production is sold in the EU and must meet the GSR requirements. However, to ensure you are buying a new car that meets all the new EU safety requirements, you should buy it from a dealer in Northern Ireland!

With the change of government comes a welcome opportunity to revitalise the UK’s failing road safety policy. That is why I was pleased to support the Road Safety Manifesto 2024, jointly launched by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety on behalf of the UK’s road safety community (13). The Manifesto sets out four strategic priorities that will restore progress in reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads. They are:

  • Develop a national road safety strategy – implement a safe system strategy focused on prevention, protection and response to collisions, combined with evidence-based targets and robust safety indicators.
  • Establishment of the Road Safety Investigations Department – ​​an independent body, modelled on existing transport safety departments, tasked with analysing road incidents and providing practical information to prevent future tragedies.
  • Introducing Graduated Licensing – a progressive licensing system that supports young drivers by reducing risky driving situations, which has been proven to reduce the number of casualties involving 17-19 year old drivers by up to 40%.
  • Adoption of advanced vehicle safety regulations – immediate implementation of the full GSR package, world-leading vehicle safety standards.

I understand that Louise Haigh, the new Secretary of State for Transport, and Lilian Greenwood, the Minister for the Future of Roads, will face many challenges in their first months in office. However, acting on the manifesto recommendations would be a great way to signal a return to evidence-based policy that can restore momentum to the UK’s road safety record. It would also help to restore the UK’s previous reputation as a world leader in road safety. This would be timely, as the Moroccan Government will host the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakesh on 18-20 February (14). What better time could there be for the new Government to rekindle the ambition of 2009 to make Britain’s roads the safest in the world?

(1) See: Microsoft Word – GB Road Safety Performance Index Report v2.2.docx (agilysis.co.uk), page 10.

(2) DfT’s Draft Road Safety Strategy 2010-2020 – Safer Roads: Consultation on making Britain’s roads the safest in the world – published 21saint April 2009.

(3) See: Towards Zero: Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach. – published January 2008: Towards Zero | ITF (itf-oecd.org).

(4) See: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/how-have-english-councils-funding-and-spending-changed-2010-2024.

(5) See: https://www.police-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/future_of_roads_policing_FINAL.pdf page 17.

(6) Road Policing: Non-optional – Road Policing checks in England and Wales – His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Service (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk)

(7) https://www.intelligentinstructor.co.uk/where-have-all-the-traffic-cops-gone/

(8) See: Crashing Cars to Save Lives: The Twenty-Year Success Story of EU Crash Tests Becoming Global Lifesavers – David Ward (daviddjward.com)

(9) In full: Theresa May’s speech on Britain’s future relationship with the EU – BBC News

(10) Guide for Applicants – Vehicle Certification Agency (vehicle-certification-agency.gov.uk)

(11) Regulation on the general safety of new vehicles (europa.eu)

(12) Former transport ministers urge Grant Shapps to take action on vehicle safety – 1 February 2022 – PACTS

(13) Road Safety Manifesto 2024 – PACT

(14) Fourth World Ministerial Conference on Road Safety (roadsafetymorocco.com).