Road safety initiative good news for car insurers

by Gill Montia

Story link: Road safety initiative good news for car insurers

Government plans to make UK roads the safest in the world and cut road deaths by one-third by 2020 could impact favourably on car insurance premiums.

Road Safety Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, yesterday outlined a range of proposals, which include a review of both speed limits and the driver training and testing process.

An expert panel is being set up to investigate road safety in the UK and a new road safety qualification will be developed as a credit towards the driving theory test.

Residential streets around schools could see the introduction of 20mph speed limits and limits for single carriageway roads known to be dangerous are likely to be reduced.

In addition, improvements will be made to the learning process for new drivers accompanied by changes to theory and practical tests.

Drivers of small commercial vehicles will also gain opportunities to enhance their skills.

According to Mr Fitzpatrick, road safety in the UK has been improving in recent years, with almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries a year today than in the mid-1990s.

Full details of the proposals can be found in the Department for Transport’s document “A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain’s Roads the Safest in the World”.