The government is set to introduce a new road safety strategy, with new laws to be introduced, with measures including mandatory eye tests for over 70s.
While the full strategy won’t be published until autumn this year, the government has confirmed that older drivers will have to undertake regular mandatory eye tests in order to keep their licence.
In addition, the drink drive limit could be set to be reduced to become more in line with the zero tolerance that Scotland has adopted in recent years.
Other measures are believed to include tougher penalties for offences such as driving without insurance or failing to wear a seatbelt (for both drivers and passengers).
Why Road Safety Is a Key Concern
Since the new government came to power, one of their biggest pledges was to overhaul road safety in the UK and make our roads safer for all road users.
It’s taken some time, but they have been consulting with National Highways, fleet owners, safety campaigners and cross-party parliamentary groups to get a handle on what the biggest road safety challenges are right now.
The road safety strategy aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads, as well as improving driver satisfaction. Road safety has become a key concern for drivers, fleets and safety campaigners alike in recent years as the number of vehicles on the road continues to increase… as does the number of incidents.
While that might seem like a natural correlation, it’s something that needs to be addressed.
The legal requirement for older drivers to be retested or have their vision and competency tested regularly has been discussed for a long time, but it appears that it will finally come to fruition later this year.
The strategy aims to target poor driver behaviour and bad habits behind the wheel such as speed, drink and drug driving, using a phone while driving and not wearing seatbelts.
All eyes will also be on what role Smart Motorways have to play in the road safety strategy, too, with new installations still on hold and the safety improvements on existing all-lane-running Smart Motorways now complete.
When it comes to risk and your fleet, there’s no point taking chances – that’s why Risk Monitor allows you to identify and manage high-risk drivers effortlessly with automated assessments, reducing liability and ensuring safer road practices.
The Future Of Road Safety
With plans for autonomous vehicles to hit UK roads in late 2026 or 2027 moving forward, it’s clear that a new strategy needed to be developed to account for the biggest change to driving in the UK in decades.
As we move towards an all-electric future in the coming years, none of us quite know just how many self-driving vehicles will be in operation in a decade or two – which presents a conundrum for the government to ensure laws keep up with the rapidly developing technology.
Tightening safety laws and developing an overarching strategy for road safety allows a stricter focus on drivers and safety on the roads, which will be welcomed by fleets and road safety campaigners alike.
But do you think more needs to be done to tackle poor driving habits and if so, what impact do you think the expected changes will have? Let us know…
