Latest news with #RoadSafetyAct
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Millions of drivers BANNED if they fail key compulsory test under plans for major law change – will you be affected?
ROAD BAN Millions of drivers BANNED if they fail key compulsory test under plans for major law change – will you be affected? MILLIONS of drivers will be banned if they fail a compulsory test under plans for a major law change. Ministers are mulling bringing in a new rule for older drivers in England and Wales. 4 Vision checks for older driver are expected to be reinforced under the changes Credit: Getty 4 There has been an increase in the number of older people who continue to drive with sight or medical issues Mandatory eye tests for drivers over the age of 70 are being considered alongside a range of other measures, The Times reports. The proposals also include reducing the drink-drive limit and tougher penalties on uninsured drivers and those who fail to wear a seatbelt. They will belong to a new road safety strategy that the government plans to publish this autumn. The change would mark the biggest shake-up of driving rules for nearly two decades, since the Road Safety Act introduced under Tony Blair in 2006. Over-70s would be required to undertake an eye-test every three years. A potential medical test for conditions, such as dementia, is also reportedly being looked at alongside eye tests. People over 70 already lose their C1 and D1 entitlements on their license. C1 allows drivers to handle medium-sized vehicles with a Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) between 3,500kg and 7,500kg. D1 entitlements mean drivers can use minibuses that have less than 16 passengers. Older drivers under the new rules could also be faced with further regulations due to concerns over the number of road accidents that have seen a recent increase after years of decline. Major New Driving Laws for Summer & Fall 2025: What You Need to Know Last year, 1,633 people were killed in road traffic accidents, and nearly 28,000 were seriously injured. This now equates to around one casualty every 18 minutes, despite numbers almost halving from 41,000 to 24,000 between 2000 and 2010. On top of that, the number of drivers over the age of 60 involved in serious or fatal collisions in the UK has also risen by 47 per cent since 2010. Incidents of people being killed in drink-driving incidents have also risen over the past decade, reaching a 13-year high in 2022. Ministers are therefore thinking about a implementing reforms to Britain's road safety measures, with the UK being considered to have the "laxest" rules in Europe. It is the one of only three countries to rely on the self-reporting of visual conditions among individuals who deem their ability to drive affected. This comes with the rise in drug-driving incidents, as well as those involving older people who continue to drive with failing sight or other medical conditions. Transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, has been developing a wide-range of new safety measures and increased penalties for breaking the law. Current key road safety messages and penalties such as around wearing seatbelts and avoiding drink-driving are considered to no longer be working. The percentage of casualties killed while not wearing a seatbelt has risen from 21 per cent in 2014 to 25 per cent in 2023. 4 Drivers over the age of 60 have increasingly been involved in serious collisions Credit: Getty 4 In Britain, this increased by 47 per cent since 2010 Credit: Getty For back seat passengers, this increased to 40 per cent, with 181 fatalities in 2023, compared to 142 passengers killed not wearing a seatbelt in 2020. Currently, drivers not wearing seatbelts are issued three penalty points, and a maximum court fine of £500. Passengers with a licence, who do not wear a seatbelt, can be issued two penalty points. Along with new proposals around drink and drug-driving limits, and criminal penalties for driving without insurance, the strategy is due to be published in the autumn. It will be put out for consultation, with parts expected to require primary legislation. Edmund King, AA president, said: 'It is in everyone's interests to tackle road safety and bring the levels of death and serious injuries down significantly. 'In other countries, such as Australia and Canada, the introduction of new measures to help young drivers have reduced death and serious injury from between 20 per cent and up to 40 per cent. "Hence if the UK scheme saw similar reductions, it is estimated that at least 58 deaths and 934 serious injuries could be prevented each year.' He also brought up the need for increased police enforcement to ensure rules are followed. "The stark reality is that, as well as better education and tougher rules, we need more officers to police the streets — at least 1,000 more roads officers, not only to act as a deterrent, but to stop dangerous drivers in the act before a tragedy happens," King added. Director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding, stated that full evidence of eye testing should also be a standard component to driver licensing when first applying, and at each renewal. 'It will be important for any new strategy to recognise the priorities that we and others have highlighted — focusing on young drivers, crash investigation and mandatory fitment of safe-driving features in new cars — but also to maintain activity on established issues such as drink and drug-driving and seatbelt wearing.'
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Millions of drivers BANNED if they fail key compulsory test under plans for major law change – will you be affected?
ROAD BAN Millions of drivers BANNED if they fail key compulsory test under plans for major law change – will you be affected? Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MILLIONS of drivers will be banned if they fail a compulsory test under plans for a major law change. Ministers are mulling bringing in a new rule for older drivers in England and Wales. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Vision checks for older driver are expected to be reinforced under the changes Credit: Getty 4 There has been an increase in the number of older people who continue to drive with sight or medical issues Mandatory eye tests for drivers over the age of 70 are being considered alongside a range of other measures, The Times reports. The proposals also include reducing the drink-drive limit and tougher penalties on uninsured drivers and those who fail to wear a seatbelt. They will belong to a new road safety strategy that the government plans to publish this autumn. The change would mark the biggest shake-up of driving rules for nearly two decades, since the Road Safety Act introduced under Tony Blair in 2006. Over-70s would be required to undertake an eye-test every three years. A potential medical test for conditions, such as dementia, is also reportedly being looked at alongside eye tests. People over 70 already lose their C1 and D1 entitlements on their license. C1 allows drivers to handle medium-sized vehicles with a Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) between 3,500kg and 7,500kg. D1 entitlements mean drivers can use minibuses that have less than 16 passengers. Older drivers under the new rules could also be faced with further regulations due to concerns over the number of road accidents that have seen a recent increase after years of decline. Major New Driving Laws for Summer & Fall 2025: What You Need to Know Last year, 1,633 people were killed in road traffic accidents, and nearly 28,000 were seriously injured. This now equates to around one casualty every 18 minutes, despite numbers almost halving from 41,000 to 24,000 between 2000 and 2010. On top of that, the number of drivers over the age of 60 involved in serious or fatal collisions in the UK has also risen by 47 per cent since 2010. Incidents of people being killed in drink-driving incidents have also risen over the past decade, reaching a 13-year high in 2022. Ministers are therefore thinking about a implementing reforms to Britain's road safety measures, with the UK being considered to have the "laxest" rules in Europe. It is the one of only three countries to rely on the self-reporting of visual conditions among individuals who deem their ability to drive affected. This comes with the rise in drug-driving incidents, as well as those involving older people who continue to drive with failing sight or other medical conditions. Transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, has been developing a wide-range of new safety measures and increased penalties for breaking the law. Current key road safety messages and penalties such as around wearing seatbelts and avoiding drink-driving are considered to no longer be working. The percentage of casualties killed while not wearing a seatbelt has risen from 21 per cent in 2014 to 25 per cent in 2023. 4 Drivers over the age of 60 have increasingly been involved in serious collisions Credit: Getty 4 In Britain, this increased by 47 per cent since 2010 Credit: Getty For back seat passengers, this increased to 40 per cent, with 181 fatalities in 2023, compared to 142 passengers killed not wearing a seatbelt in 2020. Currently, drivers not wearing seatbelts are issued three penalty points, and a maximum court fine of £500. Passengers with a licence, who do not wear a seatbelt, can be issued two penalty points. Along with new proposals around drink and drug-driving limits, and criminal penalties for driving without insurance, the strategy is due to be published in the autumn. It will be put out for consultation, with parts expected to require primary legislation. Edmund King, AA president, said: 'It is in everyone's interests to tackle road safety and bring the levels of death and serious injuries down significantly. 'In other countries, such as Australia and Canada, the introduction of new measures to help young drivers have reduced death and serious injury from between 20 per cent and up to 40 per cent. "Hence if the UK scheme saw similar reductions, it is estimated that at least 58 deaths and 934 serious injuries could be prevented each year.' He also brought up the need for increased police enforcement to ensure rules are followed. "The stark reality is that, as well as better education and tougher rules, we need more officers to police the streets — at least 1,000 more roads officers, not only to act as a deterrent, but to stop dangerous drivers in the act before a tragedy happens," King added. Director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding, stated that full evidence of eye testing should also be a standard component to driver licensing when first applying, and at each renewal. 'It will be important for any new strategy to recognise the priorities that we and others have highlighted — focusing on young drivers, crash investigation and mandatory fitment of safe-driving features in new cars — but also to maintain activity on established issues such as drink and drug-driving and seatbelt wearing.'
Scottish Sun
12-08-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Major law change for ALL new drivers in Britain is pushed by campaigners in bid to crackdown on fatal accidents
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ROAD safety campaigners are pushing for stricter rules to be placed on new drivers in a desperate bid to crackdown on fatal accidents. Measures excluding new drivers from carrying passengers were overlooked in a massive proposed shake up of road safety regulations. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Campaigners have urged ministers to look at targeting new drivers Credit: Getty 4 A policy reducing the number of same-age passengers a new driver can carry could save 58 lives according to campaigners Credit: Getty It comes after it emerged last week that ministers were drawing up plans to overhaul road safety rules. Under the proposed shake up drivers over 70 would be subject to regular eye tests and would be banned from the road if they failed. A measure to lower the drink drive limit from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms was also being considered. The proposed rule changes for England and Wales do not include any mention of restrictions on new drivers, something campaigners said was an oversight. One in five new drivers crashes in their first year on the roads and male drivers between the ages of 17 and 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than older motorists. Edmund King, president of the AA, has said that the driving law shake up needs to focus on an "overlooked reckless" group. A suggested limit on the number of same-age passengers new drivers are allowed to have in their car could be the answer Mr King says. He added: "We estimate if that policy was adopted in the UK, it would save at least 58 lives and at least 934 serious injuries. "It would cut the young road deaths by between 20 and 40 per cent." The campaigner's policy would see newly qualified drivers slapped with a limit on how many of their "peers" they can carry in their motor for six months after passing their test. Truth behind plans for new August 1 driving rules for seniors revealed – and what it means for over 70s According to Mr King countries like Australia and Canada, which have similar rules, recorded a fall in crashes and serious injuries of between 20 and 40 per cent. He rejected claims that the rule would limit young drivers freedoms saying: "There is no freedom in being wrapped around a tree at 2am in the morning." Other campaigners agree with charity IAM RoadSmart recognising evidence that restricting passengers of a similar age in the vehicles of new drivers can make reduce risk. The charity raised concerns over how such a ban could be enforced however. 4 One in five new drivers crash during their first year on the roads Credit: Getty 4 Evidence suggests banning new drivers from carrying 'peer aged' passengers reduces risk on the road Credit: Getty Proposed rule changes currently under consideration mark the largest overhaul of road safety laws since the Road Safety Act in 2006. The news of transport Secretary Heidi Alexander's planned reforms comes amid mounting evidence of increasing deaths and serious injuries on Britain's roads. Last year 1,633 people died in road traffic accidents, while nearly 28,000 were seriously injured. This worked out to the equivalent of about one motoring casualty every 18 minutes. The new road safety strategy, aimed at tackling the rising number of injuries and deaths, is due to be published in autumn. Edmund King said such a strategy was 'long overdue'. He said: "It is in everyone's interests to tackle road safety and bring the levels of death and serious injuries down significantly."
Daily Mail
11-08-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Drivers older than 70 will be forced to take eye tests every three years and banned if they fail, under new motoring law
Drivers older than 70 face taking eye tests every three years and could be banned if they fail them under planned new motoring laws. The radical proposals could also see the the drink-drive limit in England in Wales lowered from 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22mg per 100ml, as it is in Scotland. The government's plans are expected to be published this autumn, with some insiders suggesting that the motoring shake-up could be as drastic as those brought in by Sir Tony Blair in 2008, when he announced the Road Safety Act. It could bring stricter punishments for uninsured drivers as well as motorists whose passengers fail to wear a seatbelt, if they already have points on their license. There could also be tests for medical conditions like dementia introduced to assess a person's fitness to drive. It comes just months after a leading coroner wrote to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to say that the UKs licensing rules were the 'laxest' in Europe. Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, issued a prevention of future deaths report after finding that four people had been killed by drivers with poor vision. An inquest in Preston heard Mary Cunningham, 79, Grace Foulds, 85, Anne Ferguson, 75, and Peter Westwell, 80, had all died in traffic collisions where the driver had defective eyesight. Dr Adeley stated in his report: 'The four fatalities shared the same feature that the driver's sight was well below the standard required to drive a car.' Tests for visual ability to drive have not changed since the 1930s – with the threshold remaining being able to read a registration plate from 20 metres away – or around 66ft. Audi driver Glyn Jones, 68, ploughed into friends Mrs Cunningham and Mrs Foulds as they crossed a road in Southport on November 30, 2021. He was unable to see due to a condition called severe 'bilateral keratoconus' but he ignored medical advice that his eyesight was too poor. Mrs Ferguson was killed by van driver Vernon Law, 72, who had been to an optician a month before the crash in Rochdale in July 2023 and was told he had cataracts in both eyes. Following her death, her husband took his own life. Pedestrian Mr Westwell was also struck and killed by a Honda Jazz driven by Neil Pemberton, 81, in Langho on March 17, 2022. Pemberton made no attempt to brake and was speeding at 48mph in 30mph zone. The inquest heard Pemberton had a long history of severe bilateral eye disease and was twice warned he should not drive before he began to inform optometrists he was a non-driver. He repeatedly failed to self-report his condition. In his prevention of future deaths notice, Dr Adeley told the Department of Transport (DfT): 'In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.' A government source told The Times that the latest initiatives were being brought in because ministers felt they had a 'responsibility' to start reduce instances of similar traffic accidents. They said: 'It cannot be right that one person is killed or seriously injured on our roads every 18 minutes. Just think of the impact on those people and their families. We cannot sit by and simply do nothing.' The move has been praised by motoring chiefs across the country, with AA president Edmund King telling the newspaper that the plans were 'long overdue'.
Scottish Sun
10-08-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Drink-drive limit ‘set to be slashed' in new road safety plans as drivers brace for ‘biggest shake-up to rules in years'
Other measures being floated include tougher punishments for drivers without insurance ROAD CRACKDOWN Drink-drive limit 'set to be slashed' in new road safety plans as drivers brace for 'biggest shake-up to rules in years' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE drink-drive limit could be slashed as part of new road safety plans being drawn up by ministers. It is one of a number of measures due to be published in a new road safety strategy this autumn, potentially containing some of the most far-reaching reforms since the Road Safety Act in 2006. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 The drink-drive limit could be cut by more than 37 per cent as part of a new road safety initiative Credit: Getty This includes a reduction in the drink-drive limit as well as tougher punishments of penalty points for drivers whose passengers fail to wear seatbelts, reports The Times. Ministers are expected to reduce the drink-drive limit in England and Wales from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to just 22 micrograms - the same as the current level in Scotland. Many officials believe traditional road safety messages about avoiding drink-driving are failing to curb the number of accidents. There are also concerns over the rise in drug-driving and the number of older people who continue to drive despite health issues, as well as the number of those travelling without wearing seatbelts. Last year, 1,633 people died in road traffic accidents while nearly 28,000 were seriously injured - the equivalent of one casualty every 18 minutes. The last time there were around 28,000 serious injuries on the road was 2007. While serious road casualties almost halved between 2000 and 2010 from 41,000 to 24,000 they have since risen by nearly 20 per cent. Other plans being floated by ministers include the banning of drivers over the age of 70 if they fail compulsory eye tests. A recent coroner's report on the deaths of four people killed by drivers with failing sight warned that the UK had the most relaxed laws in Europe. It is one of only three European nations to rely on self-reporting of conditions affecting sight and the ability to drive. Truth behind plans for new August 1 driving rules for seniors revealed – and what it means for over 70s The number of drivers in Britain over the age of 60 involved in collisions where someone is killed or seriously injured has risen by a staggering 47 per cent since 2010. But new plans being developed under transport secretary Heidi Alexander could lead to tougher penalties and a range of new safety measures. For example, eye testing for over-70s could be conducted every three years when renewing their licence while there could also be the introduction of medical tests for conditions such as dementia. Current laws mean drivers who fail to wear a seatbelt receive three points on their licence and a maximum fine issued in court of £500. Passengers who are in possession of a licence who do not wear a seatbelt can be issued with two penalty points. However, new laws could lead to tougher penalties for drivers whose passengers fail to wear seatbelts. Potential new safety laws on driving Reduce the drink-drive limit from 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath to just 22 micrograms Punish drivers with penalty points if their passengers fail to wear seatbelts Banning over-70s from driving if they fail mandatory eye tests, conducted every three years when they renew their licence Medical tests for conditions such as dementia for older drivers Make it easier for police to bring prosecutions for drug-driving by having roadside saliva tests be permissible as evidence rather than blood tests Criminal penalties for driving without insurance Measures to tackle so-called ghost plates which cannot be read by automatic number-plate recognition cameras Between 2014 and 2023, the number of people killed in road traffic accidents who were not wearing a seatbelt rose from 21 per cent to 25 per cent. For passengers travelling the back-seat, this rose to a shocking 40 per cent. On top of tougher restrictions on drink-driving, ministers are expected to table laws cracking down on drug-driving. This includes making it easier for police to bring prosecutions by allowing them to rely on roadside saliva tests for evidence rather than blood tests. Over the past decade, there has been a 78 per cent increase in the number of drivers killed on Britain's roads who were found to have drugs in their system. Plans could also see the increase in criminal penalties for those driving without insurance and measure to counter so-called ghost plates that cannot be read by automatic number-plate recognition cameras. 'WE CANNOT SIT BY AND SIMPLY DO NOTHING' A government source told The Times that ministers believed they had a "responsibility" to start reducing road traffic accidents again. They said: "It cannot be right that one person is killed or seriously injured on our roads every 18 minutes. "Just think of the impact on those people and their families. We cannot sit by and simply do nothing." The new road strategy is expected to be published in the autumn and will be put out to consultation - and parts of it are expected to require primary legislation. Edmund King, the president of the AA, said such a strategy was 'long overdue'. He said: "It is in everyone's interests to tackle road safety and bring the levels of death and serious injuries down significantly."
