Strategic Framework for Road Safety

This document sets out the strategic framework for road safety and the package of policies designed to continue to reduce deaths and injuries on the roads.

They are split between measures that we intend to take nationally and areas where the policy and delivery will reflect local priorities, circumstances and economic assessment. While the DfT wants decisions to be made locally, wherever possible, they recognise that there is still a crucial role for national Government in providing leadership on road safety, delivering better driving standards and testing, enforcement, education, managing the strategic road infrastructure and through research and the collation and provision of public information to support local delivery.

The proposed actions and approach to continuing to reduce death and injuries on the roads are underpinned by the Government’s key principles. They reflect the commitment to supporting local decisions and to improving services to citizens.

These are:
• Across Government the DfT is committed to ending decision making that is imposed from above and assumes that one size fits all.
• As set out in the spending review they are freeing local authorities from central government control, letting them determine their own solutions that are tailored to the specific needs and priorities of their own communities.
• Transparency – ensuring that information is made available to enable local citizens to get more involved in decisions, hold local service providers to account and assess the performance of their local authority against others.
• Empowering and capability building – giving people the powers, tools and funding flexibility rather than imposing proscriptive and constraining central regulation.
The overarching priority, underpinning other aims, must be to restore the public finances and return the economy to sustainable and secure economic growth.