UK Road Safety Reforms 2026: What Every Driver Needs to Know

The UK's roads are on the brink of their most significant legal overhaul in over a decade. The Government's new Road Safety Strategy, published in January 2026, sets an ambitious target to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 65% by 2035 - and the reforms proposed to get there will affect millions of drivers. Here's what you need to know.

The Scale of the Problem

The urgency behind these changes is hard to ignore. Four people were losing their lives on UK roads every day in 2024, and over 1,700 road deaths were recorded in 2025. Against that backdrop, the Government has launched five simultaneous consultations - all of which closed on 11 May 2026 - covering everything from driver licensing to vehicle design standards.

Mandatory Eyesight Tests for Over-70s

Perhaps the most talked-about proposal is the introduction of compulsory eyesight tests for drivers aged 70 and over. Currently, older drivers self-declare their fitness to drive when renewing their licence every three years - a system that critics have long argued is inadequate. Under the proposed reforms, that self-declaration would be replaced by a formal eyesight test at each renewal, with the possibility of broader medical and cognitive assessments to follow.

The statistics make a compelling case for change. Between 2022 and 2025, nearly 33,000 licences were refused or revoked due to poor vision, and safety audits found that vision-related incidents contributed to around 8% of all road collisions. Failing the test could mean being prevented from renewing a licence - a significant shift with real legal and personal consequences for older motorists.

Graduated Licensing and Minimum Learning Periods

The reforms also target newly qualified drivers. Proposals under consultation would introduce a minimum learning period of three to six months before a learner can sit their practical test, ensuring new drivers gain experience across a broader range of conditions - night driving, motorway travel, and poor weather included.

Northern Ireland is going further still. A full Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) scheme is due to launch in October 2026, introducing restrictions for drivers aged 17 to 23 in the period following their test. Scotland is also exploring graduated licensing measures for under-25s, including engine power restrictions post-qualification.

Drink-Drive Limits and Enforcement

England and Wales may soon align with Scotland and much of Europe by lowering the legal drink-drive limit from 35 to 22 microgrammes (per 100ml of breath). Data suggests that up to 320 deaths in 2022 involved drivers above the current limit - a sobering statistic that has strengthened the case for tighter thresholds. Alcolock devices, which require a driver to pass a breath test before their vehicle starts, are also being considered for certain offenders.

What This Means for Drivers

These reforms signal a clear shift in how the law treats driver responsibility. Stricter licensing requirements, lower drink-drive limits, and enhanced enforcement powers all raise the bar - and the potential consequences of falling short.