Over 70s face UK driving bans if they fail eye tests
The shake-up could also see the drink drive limit in England and Wales to be lowered in line with Scotland's laws.
Under the plans being considered by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, the drink-drive limit in England and Wales could be cut from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms.
🏠 Moved home? You must update your:
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➡ Direct Debit for vehicle tax
➡ private number plate documentshttps://t.co/4oRx6mVOue#NewHome #DVLADigital pic.twitter.com/0WxiQfNJv3 — Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (@DVLAgovuk) August 8, 2025
This figure would be in line with Scotland, which cut its drink-drive limit in 2014, and the rest of Europe, where no other country has a limit as high as that in England and Wales.
Ministers are also considering tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and failing to wear a seatbelt.
Last year, 1,633 people were killed and almost 28,000 seriously injured in traffic incidents, and numbers have remained relatively constant following a large fall between 2000 and 2010.
A Labour source said: 'At the end of the last Labour government, the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads was at a record low, but numbers have remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments.
'In no other circumstance would we accept 1,600 people dying, with thousands more seriously injured, costing the NHS more than £2 billion per year.'
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Meanwhile, the number of people killed in drink-driving incidents has risen over the past decade, reaching a 13-year high in 2022 and prompting concern that existing road safety measures are no longer working.
Other proposals are reported to include allowing the police to bring prosecutions for drug-driving on the basis of roadside saliva tests rather than blood tests as increasing numbers of drivers are being caught with drugs in their system.
The Labour source added: 'This Labour Government will deliver the first road safety strategy in a decade, imposing tougher penalties on those breaking the law, protecting road users and restoring order to our roads.'
The strategy is due to be published in the autumn, and all proposals will be subject to consultation.
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