All the changes considered in road safety overhaul
Key measures under consideration include reducing the drink-drive limit in England and Wales to 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath from 35, aligning it with Scotland and most of Europe.
Ministers are also reportedly considering mandatory eye tests every three years for drivers aged over 70, with a driving ban for those who fail.
Further proposals include tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and those failing to wear a seatbelt, and allowing police to use roadside saliva tests for drug-driving prosecutions.
These reforms aim to address the persistently high number of road deaths and serious injuries in Britain, which saw 1,633 fatalities last year and cost the NHS over £2bn annually.
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BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Planned eyesight tests for drivers over 70 'don't go far enough'
Plans to introduce compulsory eye tests for older motorists "don't go far enough", the son of a woman who was killed by a driver with undisclosed poor eyesight has over 70 could have to be screened every three years and face being banned from the roads if they an inquest into four deaths caused by drivers with failing eyesight, Lancashire's senior coroner Dr James Adeley in April called on ministers to take action, warning the current enforcement system was "unsafe".A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Road safety measures have not been reviewed for over a decade, and we will set out the next steps for our strategy for road safety in due course." 'Prevent future deaths' The proposed reforms have been welcomed by Labour MP Paul has been campaigning for a change in the law following the death of 75-year-old Anne Ferguson. She was hit by a van driven by 72-year-old Vernon Law in Whitworth, Lancashire, in Adeley wrote to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander about the deaths of Mrs Ferguson and other road victims Marie Cunningham, Grace Foulds and Peter Ferguson's inquest heard that Law, who was jailed for four years, had been diagnosed with cataracts in both lied to his optometrist by saying he did not drive, and also failed to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).Rochdale MP Waugh told BBC Radio Manchester: "That's really shocking. It shows there was something wrong with the system."He said while mandatory eye tests for over 70s would not bring Mrs Ferguson back, they may prevent future deaths."We can't allow similar tragedies to affect other families in future," he said. Mrs Cunningham was struck by Glyn Jones in his Audi A3 as she crossed the road in Southport, Merseyside, in November son Terry Cunningham told BBC Radio Merseyside that while the government's proposals "will make a difference" they "don't go far enough".He said mandatory sight tests were a "step in the right direction" because the current system - in which drivers over 70 are only asked to "self-certify" any sight issues - was "typically putting a tick in a box".He said more far-reaching changes were required, however, since Jones was only 65 at the time of the fatal sentencing hearing was told he could not even see his steering wheel Cunningham said: "If a car is MOT'd the car is safe but you are never MOT'd for 53 years by anybody professional."He called for all drivers to have eye tests every 10 years when photocard driving licences are due for renewal. BBC North West Tonight went to Preston to canvass Richardson, 77, said he was "all in favour" of mandatory eye tests for people even younger than 70 to ensure "safety on the roads".He added: "You test a car every three years - why shouldn't drivers be tested?"Keith Andrews said eye tests "should be compulsory" for older people, and conducted more 76-year-old, who still drives, said: "I think they should be every two years. At our age [our eyesight] deteriorates. I don't three years is sufficient." Fellow Preston resident, 80-year-old Jacqueline Tanner, said she had regular eye said compulsory tests were "the right thing to do". "Probably in another five years I'll not be able to drive but I am quite happy to drive at the minute," she Delyth Fishwick, 63, said: "Part of me thinks it should be people's choice... but then you have to look at the safety aspect, too." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Work to repair Salisbury's 'killer kerb' to begin
Work to repair a kerb which has reportedly been struck by multiple vehicles is to start next week, Wiltshire Council has 35cm (13in) 'trief' kerb in Fisherton Street, Salisbury, is designed to protect pedestrians by stopping vehicles mounting the Council said it would replace the section that has been damaged by vehicles striking it despite an audit not raising any concerns about the use of the kerb had been listed as a tourist attraction on Google Maps and has had multiple Facebook pages dedicated to it. Several residents told the BBC in July that the "killer kerb" was creating a "hubcap graveyard" Geddy Porter said he had fixed damage to cars which had hit the said repairs could cost thousands. "We've had a few customers who have done the same thing - all on the bottom edge of the cars," he said. In addition to repairing the kerb, the council said a bollard would also be installed at the corner of the footpath to stop drivers making the turn from South Western Road from striking repair work is due to take place from 18 to 26 August with temporary traffic lights installed during that Martin Smith said: "This is a key junction providing access to the railway station and city centre with approximately 11,000 vehicles passing under the Fisherton Street railway bridge each day."It is important that the infrastructure installed at this location supports pedestrian safety, especially with the recent opening of Fisherton Car Park for rail customers, which has increased footfall in the area."
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
What does the data tell us about road traffic accidents?
Under "tougher" plans to tackle road deaths and injuries in England and Wales, the government has announced measures to make over-70s take compulsory eye tests every three years or lose their licence. But are they really needed? Drivers over the age of 70 already self-report their medical fitness to drive every three years, and British roads are safer now than they've ever been. In 2023, the latest year for which the Department for Transport has published data, the casualty rate on British roads fell to 398 per billion vehicle miles. It's the first time that figure has been under 400, and has halved since just 2006. In 1960, the casualty rate was 10 times higher than it is now. The total number of people killed on the UK's roads also reached a record low in 2023, other than the COVID-affected years of 2020 and 2021. There were 1,624 people killed in total, just under half of which were in cars. This figure has plateaued somewhat since 2010, however, after rapid improvements between 2006 and 2010. There was a similar plateau between 1994 and 2006 before the last significant piece of road safety legislation was introduced. The 2006 Road Safety Act introduced higher fines and more points for the most severe speeding offences, as well as greatly expanding the use of speed awareness courses. It was also the first year people could get points on their licence for using their phone. In the four years that followed, there was a 40% decrease in deaths among road users. In the 13 years since then, it's fallen just 12%. There had been a slight rise in deaths among older drivers for a few years between 2014 and 2019, but that has started to fall again now. There are now fewer deaths among over-70s compared with either the under-30s, people aged 30-49, or those between 50 and 69. In 2019, there were a similar number of deaths among people of each of these age cohorts. Academic studies have previously found that older people are also more likely to develop symptoms of depression, be admitted to care facilities, and even have a higher mortality rate, once they stop driving. The academics found that those links remained even after adjusting for other factors like baseline health and cognitive ability. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: "It is certainly good for our eye health as we age to have a regular eye test - every two years the NHS advises - but this doesn't automatically mean that a compulsory eye test at age 70 is appropriate. People can develop eye problems at any age so why confine such an approach only to those aged 70 and not to younger drivers too? "From the data we have seen, there is no reason to suppose that eye problems lie behind a significant proportion of accidents. While there may be a case for introducing a regular mandatory eye test for drivers of all ages, it is not clear that this would have a big impact on the numbers of serious accidents involving older drivers." Are younger drivers a danger to themselves? Edmund King, president of the Automobile Association, said that the government's strategy is "much overdue", while pointing to the figures showing that the number of road deaths have plateaued since 2010. He said that making vision checks compulsory for older drivers was a "practical step that can make a real difference", but added that failing to introduce a six-month limit on new drivers transporting passengers of a similar age is "a major oversight". A limit like this has been active in parts of Australia since 2007. Research by road safety charity Brake says that, in the UK, around one in five drivers crash within a year of passing their test. The Department for Transport data also shows that younger people are also significantly more likely to die as passengers compared to people in other age groups. There has also been a suggestion that younger drivers are more likely to die as a result of not wearing seatbelts. More than a third of 17-29-year-olds who die on the roads didn't have their seatbelts on. But the same is true of 30-59 year olds. There is a significant difference between men and women however - 31% of men who died did so without wearing a seatbelt, compared with just 11% of women. That also means that 89% of women who died on the roads did so despite wearing a seatbelt, perhaps adding to evidence that suggests that seatbelts offer better protection to adult men. Drink driving Since 2014, Scotland has had a lower drink drive limit than the rest of the UK. The government's new proposals would reduce the drink-drive limit in England and Wales to the same level as in Scotland - 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, instead of the current level of 80mg of alcohol. For an average-sized man, that means they would be over the limit after one pint of beer, instead of after two. In diverging from the other nations in the UK, the new standards in Scotland aligned with most of Europe. It seems to have had some impact. The number of collisions involving drink drivers has fallen by more than 40% in Scotland since it was introduced, compared with 20% in England over the same time period, and 38% in Wales. The improvement is less pronounced when it comes to the most serious drink-driving road accidents, though. They are down just 7% since 2014. Where are the safest, and most dangerous, places to drive? The Isle of Wight has the highest current fatality rate, after accounting for how much driving people do. There were 18 deaths per billion vehicle miles on the island in 2023. Next was Blackpool, with 16. The central London boroughs of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Lambeth were the only other local authorities with a rate higher than 10. At the other end of the scale, Stockport (Greater Manchester), Thurrock (Essex) and Nottingham each had fewer than one death per billion vehicle miles. When it comes to accidents that included not just deaths but also serious injuries, London has the worst record. Drivers in Westminster were most likely to end up in a serious collision, but the nine most dangerous local authorities in Great Britain were all London boroughs. Bradford completed the bottom 10. Bath and North East Somerset was the safest area, although three Welsh areas - Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Cardiff - joined South Gloucestershire in the top five. Scottish drivers were among the most likely to avoid being in crashes altogether. Eight of the 10 local authorities with the lowest overall collision rate were north of the border, although Rutland in the East Midlands had the lowest overall rate. The top 20 areas with the most collisions per mile driven were all in London. How does driving in the UK compare with other countries? The UK is one of the safest places to drive in Europe. Only Norway and Sweden had a lower rate of road deaths per head of population in 2023 than the UK's 25 deaths per million people. The figures in places like Italy, Greece and Portugal were more than twice as high. There aren't any directly comparable figures for 2023 for the US, but in 2022 their death rate from driving was five times as high as the UK, and 50% higher than the worst performing European country - Bulgaria. The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
