Call for Government action on road death anniversary

A call for Government action to be taken to address road deaths and serious injuries in England is being made by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

This Sunday (17 August 2025), road safety campaigners will remember Bridget Driscoll, who was killed by a driver of a motor vehicle in 1896. She was the first recorded road fatality. Since then, there have been over 500,000 fatalities on British roads, according to RoSPA.

The road safety organisation is calling for two critical reforms: the introduction of a road safety strategy for England and the establishment of a dedicated body to investigate serious road incidents.

“These reforms are essential if we are serious about saving lives”  – Rebecca Guy, Senior Policy Manager at RoSPA

Rebecca Guy, Senior Policy Manager at RoSPA, said: “For the past few years, England has remained the only UK nation without a refreshed national road safety strategy in place. The news that Labour will be publishing its own in the autumn is a welcome move, but it is vital that it is a coordinated framework with clear targets and accountability to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.

“Secondly, unlike aviation and rail, road collisions are not routinely investigated by an independent authority. RoSPA supports the creation of a specialist body to examine serious and fatal incidents, identify systemic risks, and prevent future tragedies.

“Bridget Driscoll’s death was the first recorded road fatality in the UK. More than a century later, lives are still being lost unnecessarily. These reforms are essential if we are serious about saving lives.”

The recommendations are drawn from RoSPA’s recent National Accident Prevention Strategy report, titled ‘Safer Lives, Stronger Nation—a cross-sector initiative aimed at reducing accidental harm across the UK’. The strategy outlines a roadmap for improving road safety, including additional measures such as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) to protect young drivers.