Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to track the number of road traffic collisions where dazzling headlights are found to be a contributory factor; and (1) whether they hold any such data since the road safety statistics were published in 2023, and (2) whether the published statistics will include this information in future.

Published data and statistics on road collisions involving injury are based on data reported to the Department by police forces via the STATS19 system, which includes details of factors contributing to collisions as recorded by the attending officer based on their judgement at the time of the collision.

Up to 2023, these contributory factors included ‘vision affected by dazzling headlights’, but following a review of STATS19, in the new specification in place from the start of 2024, a wider category ‘distraction to driver or rider from inside or outside the vehicle’ has been introduced. This is part of a wider change to rationalise the contributory factors into fewer ‘road safety factors’ which aims to make the data easier for officers to report consistently.

Statistics based on both the previous system of contributory factors and the new road safety factors are published on the gov.uk website as soon as they are available. The latest published figures relate to 2024, with 2025 data scheduled for publication in September 2026.

The Department has commissioned ground-breaking research into headlamp glare, and the Department’s road safety strategy includes a commitment to undertake further research aimed at identifying what vehicle design factors may be responsible for increased headlamp glare.