UK Government Pursues Sweeping Road Safety Law Overhaul
1,633 Traffic Deaths in the UK Last Year
Annual NHS Financial Burden Reaches 2 Billion Pounds
The UK government is moving to revise its road safety laws in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities, including mandatory vision tests for elderly drivers and lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers.
On August 10 (local time), The Guardian reported that the UK government is pursuing a sweeping overhaul of its road safety legislation.
This initiative comes amid concerns that the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads remains persistently high. Last year in the UK, 1,633 people died and approximately 28,000 were seriously injured in traffic accidents. While the number of traffic accidents in the UK declined significantly between 2000 and 2010, the figures have remained largely unchanged since then.
There are also criticisms that the high number of traffic accidents is resulting in a substantial financial burden. A Labour Party official stated, "During the previous Labour government, the number of road deaths and serious injuries reached a historic low, but under the subsequent Conservative government, the figures have remained high." The official added, "No other sector would tolerate a situation where 1,600 people die and thousands are seriously injured every year." The official further noted that this situation imposes an annual financial burden of 2 billion pounds (approximately 3.7392 trillion won) on the National Health Service (NHS).
Particularly, the number of deaths from drunk driving accidents in 2022 reached its highest level in 13 years, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing road safety measures.
As a result, the plan currently under consideration by UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander includes lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers in England and Wales from the current 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms. This matches the standard adopted by Scotland in 2014 and by most European countries. No European country currently applies a higher limit than England and Wales.
There is also discussion of introducing mandatory vision tests every three years for drivers aged 70 and over, with license revocation for those who fail. The UK is one of only three countries in Europe that relies on self-reporting for vision issues.
Additionally, the proposed revisions include allowing drug driving prosecutions based solely on roadside saliva tests, in response to a recent increase in the number of drivers testing positive for drugs.
The Labour Party official told The Guardian, "The Labour government will establish the first road safety strategy in a decade, strengthen penalties for those who break the law, protect road users, and restore order." This strategy, which is set to be announced this autumn, will be finalized after a public consultation.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
