UK’s Biggest Road Safety Charity Has Created Proposal To Drive Down Deaths And Serious Injuries On Britain’s Roads

Expert serious injury lawyers at leading law firm Irwin Mitchell have welcomed a 12-point plan by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart designed to reduce casualties on Britain’s roads – including a compulsory 12-month minimum learning period for new drivers.

There were 1,730 fatalities on the roads in 2015 – a figure IAM RoadSmart says has changed little since 2011, indicating that progress in road safety has plateaued.

Among the key proposals within the safety manifesto, released last week, is a minimum 12-month training period for new drivers prior to being eligible for a driving test.

Other recommendations include a reduction to the drink-drive limit in England and Wales from its current 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood and the ability for doctors to prescribe driving reviews for older motorists if they feel their health may be affected their abilities behind the wheel.

Expert Opinion

“While it’s true that the UK has one of the best road safety records in Europe, we’re still seeing so many needless deaths and life-changing injuries either through dangerous or careless driving, drink or drug driving or simply driver inexperience.

“The nature of our work means we have seen the devastating and life-changing consequences a road collision can have on those involved, particularly vulnerable road users like children and cyclists. Accidents can result in long-term physical and psychological trauma, which can have a dramatic impact on the rest of victims’ lives and often require extensive physical and psychological rehabilitation.

“Anything that can prevent such trauma and loss in a grass-roots way, such as IAM RoadSmart’s new driver proposal, has got to be positive. Change, of course, begins with road users taking responsibility for their actions, understanding the inherent risks of driving and ensuring that their safety and that of others is always the top priority.

“Any number of road-related deaths is too many but the figure released by IAM RoadSmart only serves to demonstrate that important work still needs to be done to tackle this issue.” David Withers - Partner, ATE Product Manager and BTE Relationship Partner

IAM RoadSmart’s proposals are part of a call to arms for road safety professionals, authorities, employers and vehicle manufacturers to work in unison to improve road safety standards.

The charity has also called upon local councils and central government to protect long-term funding that will eradicate the road maintenance backlog, Defra to implement cross-government procurement rules which accelerates the uptake of safe new vehicles with features such as autonomous braking and public and private sector companies to only issue contracts to firms with driver risk management policies in place.

Read more about the work of Irwin Mitchell's Serious Injury Team here.