News & Features

The AA Welcomes the Government's Latest Road Safety Strategy

Posted in News on Wednesday, January 7th, 2026

The AA has welcomed the government’s newly announced Road Safety Strategy, which for the first time since 2010 sets clear national targets to reduce deaths and serious injuries on UK roads. The strategy aims for a 65 percent reduction by 2035, an ambitious goal that, if achieved, could prevent around 19,000 people each year from being killed or seriously injured in road crashes.

The urgency is clear. In 2024 alone, 29,467 people were killed or seriously injured on the roads, only a 1 percent improvement on the previous year. Against this backdrop, the AA has praised the strategy’s wide ranging approach, particularly its focus on tackling drink and drug driving, seatbelt non compliance, and uninsured drivers.

Edmund King OBE, Director of The AA Charitable Trust and AA President, described the strategy as a "positively radical" reframing of road safety, noting that reintroducing ambitious targets will help keep road safety firmly on the national agenda. He also highlighted the importance of seeing road safety as a lifelong education, not something that ends once a driving test is passed. However, the AA believes there are missed opportunities. In particular, the absence of peer age passenger restrictions for newly qualified young drivers.

The AA has also stressed the importance of regular eyesight testing, welcoming mandatory eye tests for older drivers. With crash risk increasing significantly after age 70 and rising sharply after 80, ensuring good vision is a crucial part of keeping roads safe for everyone.

The challenge now lies in turning ambition into action and saving lives as a result.
 
 
 

Comments (0)