UK Road Safety Strategy backs data and in-vehicle technology to improve safety

The UK government has published its first road safety strategy in over a decade, with the aim to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035.

As part of a wide-ranging plan, the Government seeks to take a more targeted approach to speeding, drink and drug driving, seat belt non-compliance, and mobile phone use. It also plans to adopt the Safe System, a globally recognised principle that asserts that roads, people, and vehicles must all work together to protect lives.

As part of its announcement, the Government set out a broad range of measures spanning infrastructure, vehicle standards, legislation, and enforcement to tackle the problem. Crucially, it also acknowledged the role that data and technology can play in making roads safer. 

“Advancements in technology, data analytics, and innovation are transforming the landscape of road safety and post-collision response,” said the report. 

“From intelligent vehicle systems designed to prevent collisions before they occur, to real-time data sharing that enhances emergency response, these tools offer unprecedented opportunities to protect lives,” it said.

Technology is a central pillar of the Government’s new strategy

The new Road Safety Strategy signals a clear move toward leveraging technology to prevent serious collisions and a growing focus on preventing dangerous behaviour before it leads to harm.

This was something that was addressed in more detail in a recent report by the influential Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), which also called for the greater use of technology to improve road safety. 

The report—Driver Compliance: The Role of Technology in Encouraging Safe Driving—looked specifically at phone and seatbelt misuse and the role these have in accidents. 

It highlighted that the use of real-time data and AI technologies now offers a proven way to address these behaviours at scale as part of a modern approach to road safety. What’s more, it named Samsara’s technology as part of that approach. 

Policymakers converge on technology 

“Modern dash cams and in-vehicle driver monitoring systems increasingly use artificial intelligence to detect distraction or noncompliance in real time,” said PACTS.

“For example, Samsara, a fleet telematics and safety management platform, integrates inward-facing cameras and machine-learning algorithms that can identify behaviours such as mobile phone handling, eyes off the road, or failure to wear a seat belt:

“The system provides instant audio or visual alerts to the driver and reports the incident to a fleet manager via a secure online dashboard. By combining real-time feedback with post-journey analysis, Samsara enables organisations to intervene early, coach individual drivers and establish accountability across entire fleets. 

“Such systems have been adopted widely by logistics and delivery companies to reduce crash risk and insurance costs and they represent an important bridge between safety management and behavioural enforcement.”

Tech-savvy fleets are already leading the way

Although much of the mainstream news coverage of the Government’s new Safety Strategy has tended to focus on private vehicles, it’s clear that commercial fleets have a critical role to play in the shift to safer roads. 

By investing in in-vehicle technology that provides real-time feedback, coaching, and education, employers can help drivers address risk in the moment and build safer driving cultures at scale.

While both reports look ahead to how technology could reshape road safety, for many commercial fleets, this future is already taking shape. 

CLEAN Linen & Workwear—which delivers linens and uniforms to hotels and businesses across the UK—recorded a 38% reduction in collision rates across the business and saw an 80% improvement in overall fleet safety scores after it migrated to Samsara’s Connected Operations Platform. 

It’s a similar story at Gloucester-based Bennetts Coaches, which now has a 90+ average driver safety score across the fleet, while Delifresh, which serves the UK’s catering and hospitality industry, has significantly reduced the frequency of on-road incidents by 41% despite nearly doubling their mileage from 1.8 million to 3.3 million miles.

Technology helps build an holistic safety culture 

While Samsara technology links all three operators, there is another common thread that must not be overlooked. In all three cases, the investment in technology has been carried out in tandem with an organisation-wide focus on safety culture and awareness.

By motivating drivers to maintain high standards—and giving them the right tools and encouragement—Samsara’s customers are leading the way in terms of changing attitudes and improving their safety profile. Indeed, if the government is looking for a model of best practice, it would do well to speak to those fleets that are already making giant strides in this area.

In fact, recent polling by Samsara found that seven in 10 professional drivers back the use of dual-facing cameras, while more than half believe AI telematics help protect all road users. 

Similarly, a recent global safety report published by Samsara revealed a step-change in safety performance for Samsara customers and concluded that with the right technology, fleets can reduce risk, improve compliance, and build safety cultures that protect both drivers and the communities they serve. 

That’s a massive thumbs up all round. It also suggests that when it comes to road safety, the Government is definitely heading in the right direction.