Skip to main content

DfT to review UK traffic enforcement

The Department for Transport (DfT) in the UK is to carry out a review into road policing and traffic enforcement in a bid to improve highway safety. The two-year review - jointly funded by the DfT and Highways England - will look at how road policing currently works, its effectiveness and areas for improvement. The DfT will work with the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. A pilot programme is expected to follow in 2020, looking at new initiatives to see what works best for reducing roa
July 22, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) in the UK is to carry out a review into road policing and traffic enforcement in a bid to improve highway safety.

The two-year review - jointly funded by the DfT and 8101 Highways England - will look at how road policing currently works, its effectiveness and areas for improvement.

The DfT will work with the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. A pilot programme is expected to follow in 2020, looking at new initiatives to see what works best for reducing road casualties.

Michael Ellis, road safety minister, says road policing is a “key deterrent” in stopping drivers breaking the law and risking their own - and other people’s - lives.

“This review will not only highlight where police forces are doing good work, it will show what more can be done to improve road safety,” Ellis adds.

Additionally, the review will look at how police and different agencies work together, the information they share and how improvements may increase capability and capacity. It will also consider how best to police roads in rural and urban areas and the strategic road network.

As part of the move, the DfT is rolling out a new version of the Collision Reporting and Sharing software and smartphone for police mobile devices.


The DfT says the app allows officers to report crash data and locations on-site rather than having to return to a police station to duplicate paperwork on a computer.

A call for evidence will launch in the autumn to find out what currently works well. Findings and recommendations will be ready next year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Report highlights community impact of new mobility options
    March 29, 2018
    Local authorities and communities must understand the impacts of the new mobility options and regulate to get the transport systems they want, according to a new report. Colin Sowman takes a look. Outside of the big cities plagued with congestion, the existing transportation system(s) often cope adequately, and the ongoing workload (maintenance, safety…) is more than enough to keep local transport authorities busy. Is it, therefore, a good use of public service employees’ time to keep abreast of the raft
  • Driven demos AVs operating ‘safely’ in London
    October 7, 2019
    The Driven Consortium has completed a week-long demonstration which it says shows that autonomous vehicles (AVs) can operate safely in London - with a safety driver. Driven - a £13.6 million initiative supported by the UK government - carried out the demo around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford in the east of the city. Driven has focused on completing fully-autonomous routes within the UK capital and the city of Oxford using Oxbotica’s autonomous software. Consortium members Moninet and Axa XL p
  • Q&A: IBTTA president Mark Compton
    January 20, 2021
    Mark Compton is CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Middletown, PA. IBTTA's Bill Cramer sat down with Mark to learn a bit more about his background and interests
  • Bespoke ITS is helping to reduced collisions on America’s rural roads
    October 22, 2014
    David Crawford cherrypicks conference and award highlights Almost 30% of all US citizens live in rural areas or very small communities, and 34 of the 50 states exceed this level in their own populations, with the proportions rising as high as 85%. And although rural routes carry only 35% of all traffic, the accidents that occur on them account for some 54% of all US road traffic accident deaths.