The Government’s road safety statement – December 2015

The road safety statement  published on 21 December 2015 sets out the government’s vision, values and priorities for improving the safety of Britain’s roads. The statement describes the current context of road safety in Britain and the broad scope of road safety activity for the government. It covers road safety policy within Britain as governed by the Department for Transport.

The main actions include consulting on:

• proposals on dangerous in-car mobile phone use, with a view to increasing penalties for drivers using a hand-held mobile phone

• legislative changes relating to HGVs to improve urban cycle safety

• proposals to support safety for motorcyclists including better training and improved safety equipment

• ways to incentivise and reward the uptake of more pre-test practice, including a broader range of real-world driving experiences including lessons on motorways

Other measures include additional funding for police forces in England and Wales to build drug-driving enforcement capability; a £2 million research programme to identify the best possible interventions for learner and novice drivers and undertaking a road safety management capacity review to identify areas for improved joint working, local innovation and efficiency. 

Children and young people

The wide activities set out in the statement such as targeting in-car mobile phone use will contribute to making the roads safer for children and the measures relating to drivers and motor cyclists will have a direct impact on young people (a high risk group) as they begin to use motor vehicles. Other actions are aimed more narrowly at children including:

• reviewing and developing the government’s road safety educational materials for school aged children for use in schools at various stages of development and at key risk points, such as the transition from primary to secondary school

• providing four year funding to support Bikeability cycle training in schools designed to increase children's road awareness, encourage active travel and improve future motorists’ empathy for more vulnerable road users 

• piloting Bikeability Plus – additional modules designed to address specific barriers to cycling to ensure that children and families are given the input needed to help them to make cycling part of their everyday life

• supporting Living Streets’ ‘Walk to School’ programme through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. Living Streets works with children, families and schools to identify barriers to walking to school and devises solutions together to overcome them

• devising new THINK! road safety educational campaigns that focus on child and teen road safety, young drivers and motorcyclists. 

More information

Read the British road safety statement – policy announcement

Download Working together to build a better road system: British road safety statement

Find out more about Bikeability cycle training

And also Bikeability Plus

Get up to date about Living Streets – Walk to School programme

Review the THINK! Road safety campaigns and resources