Road Safety Week 2025: How safer vehicles are saving lives every day

We are supporting our charity partner Brake with its latest campaign “Safe vehicles save lives” and Catherine Morgan, Associate in our Serious Injury team, discusses what this means in the work we do.

Each year in November, Road Safety Week brings our collective attention back to one of the most avoidable tragedies on our roads which is collisions that result in death or life-changing injuries. This year, from 16 to 22 November, the campaign which is run by the road safety charity Brake carries the theme ‘Safe Vehicles Save Lives’.

More than 1,700 people die on our roads in the UK each year and a further 30,000 suffer serious, life-changing injury. Unfortunately there has been no significant reduction in these figures for more than a decade.

This Road Safety Week is a chance to look closely at how safer vehicles can reduce those numbers.

What is a ‘safe vehicle’?

A safe vehicle is one that is designed, maintained and used in a way that prevents collisions and minimises harm when they do occur.

Modern advancements in vehicle technology are making this more possible than ever. It goes far beyond seatbelts and airbags. Today’s vehicles integrate active safety technologies that can anticipate and avoid danger and protect occupants and others when a collision happens.

So, what are some of the modern safety technologies:

• Autonomous emergency braking detects imminent collisions and automatically applies the brakes.
• Intelligent speed assistance alerts drivers to speed limits and can prevent unintentional speeding.
• Lane keeping assistance warns or steers vehicles back onto the lane if drifting occurs.
• Driver fatigue and distraction monitoring helps prevent one of the most common causes of collisions – human error.
• Pedestrian and cyclist detection reduces the likelihood of collisions with vulnerable road users.

Together, these technologies are preventing thousands of crashes each year. Research from the European Transport Safety Council suggests that Autonomous Emergency Braking alone could reduce rear-end collisions by up to 38%.

However, safety alone is not enough. A vehicle needs to be properly maintained and used responsibly.

The reality check: Where safety often fails

Despite the advances in design and technology, many collisions still occur because of failures in vehicle safety which are often simple and preventable. These are often due to:

• Poor maintenance: Worn tyres, faulty brakes, broken lights or under-inflated tyres are common factors in serious collisions. A 2024 Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) report found that 25% of MOT failures were linked to safety critical components.

• Disabled safety systems: Many modern vehicles come equipped with features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking or Lane Keeping Assist, but too often these systems are switched off, ignored or not properly understood. Technology can only save lives when it is used correctly and awareness of how these features operate remains low across the UK population.

• Over-reliance on technology: Conversely, some drivers place too much trust in technology and driver-assist systems in particular, mistaking them for autonomy. These features are designed to be aids, not replacements for responsible driving.

• Neglecting vehicle recalls: Tens of thousands of UK vehicles every year are subject to safety recalls, but not all vehicle owners respond. A missed recall can mean a defective airbag, brake or electrical defects which, if ignored, could result in catastrophic consequences.

• Lack of awareness around vehicle safety: Perhaps one of the most underestimated issues is a lack of awareness around vehicle safety ratings. Many drivers assume that all modern cars offer similar protection, but that isn’t the case.

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) awards vehicles between one and five stars based on how well they protect occupants, pedestrians, and cyclists as well as the effectiveness of crash avoidance technologies. Yet research suggests that a significant proportion of UK consumers and fleet operators either don’t check safety ratings before purchase, or don’t understand what they mean.

This lack of awareness carries real-world consequences. A poorly rated or older vehicle increased the likelihood of serious injury or death both for occupants and vulnerable road users.

The legal implications of unsafe vehicles

When vehicle safety fails, the consequences extend beyond the physical injuries sustained in a collision. There are often complex legal questions to answer, questions that form a key part of the work we do within our Serious Injury department.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, both individuals and organisations have a legal duty to ensure that vehicles used on public roads are safe, road-worthy and properly maintained.

Failure to maintain, inspect, or operate a vehicle safely can result in:

• Criminal liability for causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless driving;
• Civil liability where negligence contributes to a collision; and
• Corporate or employer accountability where unsafe vehicles are used during the course of employment.

When these duties are breached, the impact can be devastating.

The clients we have helped following serious injury due to a road traffic collision

We represent clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries, and families who have lost loved ones, as a result of road traffic collisions. In many of these cases, questions of vehicle safety and maintenance are central to understanding what went wrong and who is responsible.

One client of ours received over £9 million in compensation after she sustained a brain injury following a road traffic collision. The driver was uninsured and deliberately drove their car into the car in which our client was a passenger which then veered off the road and hit a brick wall.

Our client was a new mother, having given birth just three weeks before, and so our expert solicitors in the Serious Injury team ensured that rehabilitation and support were available for both our client and her new baby.

The multi-million-pound settlement comprised of a £1.4 million lump sum payment with periodical payments each year for the rest of our client’s life in order to support her following a serious brain injury.

Could this tragic situation, any many others like it, have been avoided if technologies had been used to make our roads safer?

Building a safer future

The route to zero deaths and serious injuries depends on continuous improvement both in technology and road-safety awareness.

Vehicle manufacturers must continue prioritising safety over aesthetics or performance. Regulators should ensure advanced safety systems are standard, not optional, and drivers must take ownership of their vehicles’ safety.

Innovation and technological advances can make our roads safer, but only if we commit to using it effectively and responsibly.

How can you make a difference?

This Road Safety Week, take a moment to make sure your vehicle is as safe as it can be:

• Check your tyres, brakes and lights;
• Activate and understand your safety systems;
• Respond to all recall notices promptly;
• Choose vehicles with top safety ratings when buying or leasing;
• Encourage safety culture at work and home; and
• Support charities like Brake, which campaign for safer roads and support those affected by collisions.

Each of these small steps contributes to a collective goal, saving lives.

Behind every statistic is a family that changes forever. This Road Safety Week , the message is clear: Safer Vehicles Save Lives. By choosing safer vehicles, maintaining them properly and using technology responsibly, countless tragedies can be prevented before they happen.

To read more case studies about our clients who were seriously injured in a road traffic collision either as a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist and how we have helped them, see below:

• Teenager Suffers Severe Brain Injury Following Motorbike Crash
• £30m secured for man injured following road traffic collision
• Motorcyclist Sustains Brain Injury After Collision With Car
• Woman Hit By Car After Walking Across 50mph Dual Carriageway
• Pedestrian Hit By Car Suffers Head And Serious Spinal Injury
• Leg Amputee Youngest In UK To Have Osseointegration Surgery

Our specialist solicitors in our Serious Injury team support clients throughout England, Wales and abroad who have sustained life changing injuries as a result of road traffic collisions. As recognised specialists, we work closely with a number of national and local charities as well as clinicians, therapists and the emergency services to provide holistic support to our clients.