UK launches country’s first ever investigation branch focused on road safety

29 June 2022

Government launches country’s first ever investigation branch focused on road safety

Road Safety Investigation Branch (RSIB) will investigate incidents on country’s roads and provide insight into what needs to change to help save lives

Move will ensure some of the highest road safety standards in the world continue to be met as we modernise the road network

The Government will recruit a specialised team of inspectors to join the country’s first ever Road Safety Investigation Branch, looking at how and why incidents happen and to provide real insight into how new technologies – such as self-driving and electric vehicles – can be rolled out on our roads.

The branch will investigate themes in the causes of collisions, as well as specific incidents of concern, to learn valuable road safety lessons. It will make independent safety recommendations to organisations such as Government and police forces to better shape the future of road safety policy and provide better, greener and safer journeys for people right across the country.

The specialised unit will also provide vital insight into safety trends related to new and evolving technologies which could include self-driving vehicles, e-scooters and EVs, which will ensure the country maintains some of the highest road safety standards in the world and exciting new tech is deployed safely.

To coincide with the announcement, RAC Foundation led a project to develop new approaches to harvesting and analysing data about the causes of road crashes from different sources, including information from police investigations beyond that captured in STATS19 returns, and will look across agencies to improve our understanding of the circumstances that result in death, injury and traffic disruption

To coincide with this announcement The Foundation has also published two final Road Collision Investigation Project (RCIP) reports:

• Road Collision Investigation Project (RCIP): Final Project Report.
• Development of taxonomies and meta-analysis.