The DfT has published its recommendations to make Britain’s roads safer.

In an effort to make Britain’s roads the safest in the world, the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has laid out ambitious plans to overhaul Britain’s road speed limits and improve the driving test process.

Its publication, A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain’s Roads the Safest in the World, has been released for consultation and its recommendations aim to reduce one third of road deaths by 2020.

Included in its recommendations are: the introduction of 20 mph speed limits near schools and residential areas; the review of speed limits on single carriageway rural roads; and the introduction of new targets, such as halving the number of child road deaths.

The publication also looks at the driving test – both the practical and theory elements. It proposes a new voluntary pre-driver qualification for 14-17 year olds, which can act as partial credit towards the overall theory test.

The theory test will therefore be amended and will also include case studies to examine whether people have actually understood the theory – this will all be included in the test from October 2009.

The practical section of the driving test will also change to allow the examiner to assess whether the learner can drive independently without instruction.

These changes, along with many other suggestions, aim to make Britain’s roads safer. Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick explained: “We’ve already made real improvements to the safety of our roads – there are now almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries in a year than there were in the mid-1990s. But it is intolerable that eight people are still dying on our roads each day.

“The major changes to the driver training and testing process will create better prepared drivers while our plans for the next 10 years aim to make the roads and vehicles they use safer and so prevent many of the terrible crashes which cut short lives and tear families apart.”

The consultation will close on 14 July 2009. To view it in full, visit: http://www.dft.gov.uk/roadsafetyconsultation ^[1]