The government published a new Road Safety Strategy for Great Britain on 7 January 2026, the first comprehensive national strategy in more than a decade.
Its central targets are substantial: a 65% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads in Great Britain by 2035, and a 70% reduction for children under 16. Both will be measured against a 2022 to 2024 baseline.
The strategy is organised around four themes: supporting road users; using technology, data and innovation; ensuring infrastructure is safe; and robust enforcement. It is based on the Safe System principle that people will make mistakes, but the road system should be designed so those mistakes do not result in death or serious injury.
Several commitments deal directly with how young people are prepared for driving. The strategy included consultations on a minimum learning period for learner drivers and a lower blood-alcohol limit for novice drivers. It also committed the government to publishing national guidance for road safety education, training and publicity, alongside a manual supporting a lifelong approach to road safety learning.
These are not all changes to the law. Some are consultations or commitments to develop future guidance. Their inclusion nevertheless recognises that safer roads require more than a driving test or a single intervention. Infrastructure, vehicles, enforcement, practical experience and education all have a part to play.
DriverReady was built for this earlier stage. Delivered in schools to students aged 14 to 17, its six weekly modules help young people understand why risk rises, practise strategies for pressure and decision-making, and make plans for situations they may later face independently.
Road safety education is not a substitute for safer roads, vehicles or enforcement. It is one part of the same Safe System, and it should begin before young people take the wheel alone.