Juliet Campbell, Labour’s MP for Broxtowe, has today welcomed the government’s new Road Safety Strategy, which aims to cut deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.
After more than a decade of Conservative inaction, 22 European countries have made greater progress than the UK in reducing road fatalities, causing Britain to slip from third to fourth in European road safety rankings. Around four people still die on Britain’s roads every day – many in collisions that could have been prevented.
Labour’s Road Safety Strategy marks a decisive break from that failure, with a clear plan to tackle the main causes of serious collisions, including drink and drug driving, speeding, mobile phone use, unsafe vehicles, and poor road design.
The strategy includes consultations on lowering the drink-drive limit – unchanged since 1967 – tougher action on repeat offenders, and the potential use of alcohol interlock devices.
To reduce collisions involving young drivers, the government will consult on a three or six-month minimum learning period, while mandatory eyesight testing for drivers over 70 will also be considered as the population ages.
Further measures include cracking down on illegal ‘ghost’ number plates, uninsured driving and vehicles without a valid MOT, mandating 18 new vehicle safety technologies, and establishing a new Road Safety Investigation Branch and Board to oversee delivery.
Juliet Campbell MP has been campaigning for improvements to road safety across Broxtowe including pushing for action to tackle persistent speeding along the A52 between Bramcote island and Bardills roundabout, and campaigning for a footbridge on the A610 by Panattoni Park in Eastwood.
Labour’s Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said:
“Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy that devastates families and communities. For too long, progress on road safety has stalled. This strategy marks a turning point.
“We are taking decisive action to make our roads safer for everyone, from new drivers taking their first lessons to older motorists wanting to maintain their independence. The measures we are announcing today will save thousands of lives over the coming decade.”
Juliet Campbell Labour’s MP for Broxtowe said:
“For too long, communities like ours have been let down by a Conservative government that failed to take road safety seriously. This strategy is a vital step towards preventing avoidable deaths and injuries, and it shows what can be achieved when government finally chooses to act. People in Broxtowe will be safer because of it.”
Labour’s strategy is built on the internationally recognised Safe System approach, which recognises that while human error is inevitable, deaths and serious injuries are not.
Rather than placing responsibility solely on individual drivers, the approach ensures that road design, vehicle safety, enforcement, and education work together to protect all road users.
It demonstrates Labour’s commitment to safer communities, easing pressure on the NHS, and ending the complacency that defined the Conservatives’ record on road safety.