UK Unveils Ambitious Plan to Cut Road Deaths by 65%

The road safety plan has been reinforced by a new cycling and walking investment strategy announced in June 2026.

The United Kingdom has launched a new national road safety strategy aimed at dramatically reducing road deaths and serious injuries over the next decade, offering a model that could influence road safety efforts around the world.

Introduced in early 2026, the strategy sets a target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 65 per cent by 2035. It also aims to cut fatalities among children under the age of 16 by 70 per cent during the same period.

The announcement comes ahead of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety in July, where governments will review progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

Safe Systems Approach at the Centre

The strategy is built around the internationally recognised Safe Systems approach, which accepts that human mistakes will always occur but seeks to ensure those mistakes do not result in death or life-changing injuries.

Rather than placing responsibility solely on drivers, the approach focuses on safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better road management. It recognises that road safety outcomes improve when transport systems are designed to anticipate human error and reduce the consequences of collisions.

To oversee implementation, the UK has established a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport. The board will monitor progress against national targets, review performance indicators and identify barriers that could slow delivery.

The body will work alongside an Implementation Board and Expert Advisory Panels that bring together specialists, government agencies and road safety stakeholders to guide policy and evaluate results.

Data and Technology to Drive Prevention

A major feature of the strategy is a stronger focus on evidence-based decision-making. The government plans to prioritise the secure linking of police collision records with healthcare data to improve understanding of crash causes, injury outcomes and prevention opportunities.

A new Data-led Road Safety Investigation Branch will also be created to analyse information from transport systems, connected vehicles and other sources. The aim is to identify emerging risks, investigate collision trends and support more targeted interventions.

The strategy further commits to consulting on mandatory adoption of 18 vehicle safety technologies. Proposed measures include autonomous emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance and lane-keeping systems designed to reduce driver error and prevent serious crashes.

Walking and Cycling Form Part of Wider Vision

The road safety plan has been reinforced by a new cycling and walking investment strategy announced in June 2026. The initiative seeks to ensure that 55 per cent of short journeys in towns and cities are completed by walking or cycling by 2035. The government believes safer active transport networks can deliver significant health, environmental and economic benefits while reducing traffic congestion. The strategy also includes a pilot National Work-Related Road Safety Charter aimed at encouraging businesses to strengthen road safety practices across their operations and supply chains.

In a symbolic move, the government has committed to replacing the term "accident" with "collision" in parliamentary documents, official statistics and National Highways signage. Officials argue that the word accident suggests road deaths are unavoidable, while collision reflects the evidence that many crashes can be prevented through effective policies and safer transport systems.

The UK's approach aligns closely with recommendations from the World Health Organization and the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, highlighting how stronger governance, better data and safer infrastructure can help save lives on the world's roads.