The Government has launched its first comprehensive Road Safety Strategy in over 10 years, setting out plans to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.
For fleets, the figures are particularly relevant. Around one in three road deaths involve someone driving or riding for work, reinforcing the importance of driver training, safety awareness and effective management of work-related road risk.
Fleet operators already play a central role in road safety, driven by duty of care obligations and the need to protect drivers and other road users. The new strategy focuses on how organisations manage safety, rather than only individual driver behaviour.
What the strategy focuses on
The strategy is built around four themes: supporting road users, making better use of technology and data, improving road infrastructure, and strengthening enforcement. It also commits to reviewing higher-risk areas such as young and novice drivers, older drivers and motorcyclists.
Alongside the strategy, the Government has launched consultations on motoring offences, learner driver rules, eyesight testing for older drivers, motorcycle training and licensing, and mandating additional vehicle safety technologies. Together, these point to tighter expectations around behaviour, vehicle standards and compliance.
The National Work-Related Road Safety Charter
A key development for fleets is the proposed National Work-Related Road Safety Charter. The Charter aims to establish a national standard for organisations whose employees drive or ride for work, covering vehicles from HGVs and vans through to cars, motorcycles, e-cycles and bicycles.
The two-year pilot will focus initially on engagement, early safety impact and culture change, with the option of regulatory intervention if voluntary participation does not deliver sufficient improvements. For fleet managers, the Charter could help support internal safety initiatives and strengthen the case for investment in training, systems and risk management.
Managing road risk in practice
As expectations increase, fleets will need to show that safety policies are supported by consistent action. Managing driver risk, monitoring incidents, maintaining vehicles and identifying emerging trends all depend on having accurate, connected data.
By bringing together driver, vehicle and compliance information in one place, platforms such as Jaama’s Key2 support a more structured, operational approach to road safety. Rather than relying on disconnected systems or manual processes, fleet managers can maintain oversight, identify risk earlier and take proactive steps to improve safety outcomes.
As the Road Safety Strategy moves from policy to implementation, a system-led approach will be central to helping fleets meet rising expectations, support safer driving behaviours and demonstrate compliance with evolving national standards.
