Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to reintroduce national road safety targets.

The Department has no current plans to reintroduce national road safety targets.

There is no robust academic evidence to indicate that the setting of any targets in the UK would contribute to progress in road casualty reduction. In fact there has been a stalling of progress in road casualty reductions across many economically advanced countries, including in countries with targets (e.g. Sweden and the Netherlands).

The 2015 Road Safety statement sets out the Department for Transport’s overall principles and priorities in relation to British road safety. Local authorities, the police and other bodies are free to set their own road safety targets if they wish.