The government published its first Road Safety Strategy in over a decade on 7 January 2026. It sets a target to cut deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.
For most drivers, the headlines around eye tests and drink-drive limits grabbed attention, but there’s a lot more in the detail that will affect how you drive, what your car does and what happens if you’re involved in a collision. Here’s what’s actually changing and when you’ll feel it.
The 65% Target and Why the Government Acted Now
In 2024, 1,602 people were killed on Great Britain’s roads and 27,865 were seriously injured. Progress on reducing those numbers had stalled for years, and Britain now sits fourth out of 36 countries in international rankings for road fatalities per million people, having previously held a stronger position.
The strategy uses what’s called the Safe System approach. Instead of putting the blame solely on individual drivers, it accepts that people make mistakes and builds safety into the whole system: road design, vehicle technology, enforcement and education. The 65% reduction target uses 2022 to 2024 data as the baseline, with an even steeper 70% target for children under 16.
18 Mandatory Vehicle Safety Technologies
One of the biggest changes is the plan to require 18 new safety technologies in all new vehicles sold in Great Britain. These include autonomous emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance, lane-keeping assistance and drowsiness detection systems. The government estimates the mandate could prevent more than 14,000 deaths and serious injuries over 15 years.
If you’re buying a new car in the next few years, you’ll find these features fitted as standard. For drivers who already own newer models, some of these technologies may already be built in. The mandate will close the gap and make sure budget models carry the same protections as premium ones.
This is currently the subject of a consultation on GB type approval, so the exact timeline will depend on the outcome. But the direction is clear: new cars will do more to prevent collisions before they happen.
Tougher Rules for Drink-Driving and Young Drivers
The strategy launches consultations on lowering the drink-drive limit in England and Wales, which has been unchanged since 1967 and is currently the highest in Europe. Scotland already operates at 50mg per 100ml of blood, compared to 80mg in England and Wales. The government is also looking at alcohol interlock devices for repeat offenders and new powers to suspend licences for those suspected of drink or drug-driving offences.
Young drivers are another focus. Drivers aged 17 to 24 make up just 6% of licence holders but are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions. The government is consulting on a mandatory minimum learning period of three or six months, giving new drivers more time to build experience in different conditions.
Mandatory Eye Tests for Drivers Over 70
In 2024, 24% of car drivers killed were aged 70 or over. The strategy proposes mandatory eyesight testing for drivers over 70, with the possibility of cognitive assessments to follow. At the moment, drivers over 70 self-declare their fitness to drive every three years. The proposed change would introduce an independent check.
The consultation on this measure closed on 11 May 2026, alongside four others covering the minimum learning period, drink-drive limits and vehicle standards. Any changes will take time to implement, but it signals a shift towards more active monitoring of driver fitness in later life.
What Happens After a Collision is About to Change
The strategy also establishes the Road Safety Investigation Branch (RSIB), a new independent body that will investigate collision patterns and systemic failures across Great Britain. Think of it as the road equivalent of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. The RSIB won’t assign blame or liability. That’s still the job of the police. Instead, it will analyse data from police reports, the NHS, insurers and vehicle manufacturers to spot trends, identify root causes and make safety recommendations.
For drivers, this means post-collision scrutiny will become more detailed and data-driven over time. Collisions won’t just be treated as isolated incidents. They’ll feed into a bigger picture that shapes future policy and enforcement.
What This Means If You’re in a Non-Fault Accident
With more data collection and a more complex claims environment, dealing with the aftermath of a collision is likely to get harder to manage alone. If you weren’t at fault, you don’t have to go through your own insurer. An accident management specialist like Innocent Driver can handle repairs, arrange a like-for-like replacement vehicle and manage the claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer, keeping the process away from your own policy entirely.
Enforcement and Penalties: What’s Getting Stricter
The strategy doesn’t stop at prevention. It also tightens consequences for dangerous behaviour:
- Penalty points for failing to wear a seatbelt, including for drivers whose child passengers aren’t buckled up
- Stricter penalties for driving without a licence, insurance or valid MOT
- New measures to crack down on illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ plates designed to fool cameras
- Powers to suspend driving licences during investigations into serious offences that cause death or serious injury
These aren’t all in force yet. Many are subject to consultation. But the overall message is that enforcement is going to get tougher, and the cost of breaking the rules will go up.
A Decade of Change Starts Now
Most of the measures in this strategy won’t land overnight. The consultations on eye tests, drink-drive limits and young driver rules closed in May 2026, and the government will need to legislate on several fronts before changes take effect. But the direction is set, and some elements, like the vehicle technology mandates, will filter through as manufacturers update their models.
For everyday drivers, the practical takeaway is simple. Expect your next new car to come with more built-in safety tech. Watch for changes to drink-drive limits and licensing rules over the next couple of years. And if you’re ever in a collision, be aware that how those incidents are recorded and investigated is about to become far more thorough than it used to be.