LONDON, England – The United Kingdom launched a new national road safety strategy in early 2026. The strategy sets an ambitious goal of a 65 percent reduction in road deaths and serious injuries by 2035, and a 70 percent reduction in fatalities among children under 16. Rooted in proven principles, data collection and analysis, and clear governance and accountability, it offers insights for countries that aim to rapidly reduce road trauma.
A new cycling and walking investment strategy followed in June 2026. it aims to ensure that 55 percent of short journeys in towns and cities are safely walked or cycled by 2035. Backed with record investment and grounded in cross-government coordination, if offers insights for countries that aim to reap the huge health, economic and environmental gains that arise from walking and cycling that is made safe.
A UN High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety will be held on 20–21 July 2026. World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is urging governments to ‘double down on delivery,’ and close gaps between commitment and action if the world is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals’ Target of a 50 percent reduction of road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030.
The new UK road safety strategy is rooted in the proven Safe Systems approach, which acknowledges that while human error is inevitable, deaths and serious injuries are not. It puts a focus on safe road design and management rather than solely on how drivers or other road users behave on the roads.
The combination of ministerial accountability, multi-agency coordination, data-led investigation, and transparent public reporting reflects WHO recommendations and is line with in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.
Delivery is overseen by a new road safety board that is chaired by the minister for local transport. The Board monitors progress against national targets and Safety Performance Indicators, with ongoing tracking embedded in work of the department for transport. Its remit includes identifying barriers to delivery and drawing on international best practice. The board convenes representatives from across government and other key delivery partners. It is supported by an implementation board to track the delivery of commitments in the road safety strategy and expert advisory panels which draw on knowledge from a wide range of road safety stakeholders.
The UK strategy commits to making the secure linkage of police-recorded collision data and healthcare data a policy priority. It commits to establishing a new Data-led Road Safety Investigation Branch to analyse cross-sectoral and connected vehicle data to identify safety risks. It will use linked road safety and health data to better understand collision causes, injury outcomes, and opportunities to prevent future harm. It will carry out in-depth studies into collision themes and emerging road safety issues. It will work with partners to improve understanding of collision causes and prevention opportunities and will support evidence-based road safety policies and targeted interventions.
WHO recommends that governments legislate minimum vehicle safety standards rather than leaving manufacturers to decide which features reach which markets. The strategy commits to consulting on mandating 18 new vehicle safety technologies, including autonomous emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance and lane-keeping support.
A National Work-Related Road Safety Charter is also being piloted. It reflects global efforts to work with corporations to embed robust road safety practices across their operations and value chains.
The strategy commits to replacing the word ‘accident’ with ‘collision’ across parliament, road casualty statistics and on National Highways signage. The word ‘accident’ implies that fatal crashes are unavoidable. The word ‘collision’ reflects the evidence that deaths are preventable.