An established government road safety programme will prevent an estimated 2,700 deaths and serious injuries over 20 years on some of England’s most dangerous A‑roads – delivering £1.25 billion in benefits to society from a £195 million investment, a new report says.
The Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund, launched in 2016, targets safety improvements on high‑risk local authority A‑roads using iRAP star ratings, an internationally recognised measure of how safe a road’s design is. The programme focuses on roads with poor safety performance and the greatest potential to reduce serious harm.
Over a 20‑year appraisal period, the Fund is estimated to deliver a benefit–cost ratio of 5.3, meaning that for every £1 invested, society benefits by around £5.30 through avoided deaths and injuries.
Instead of focusing solely on where there have been collisions in the past, the Safer Roads Fund uses detailed assessments of road design and risk to identify danger in advance – tackling unsafe layouts, junctions and roadside features before lives are lost.
Alongside physical improvements on 100 high‑risk routes, the programme has also driven a major shift in how road safety is delivered, building Safe System capability within local highway authorities and supporting a move away from reactive responses towards proactive risk management.
Dr Suzy Charman OBE, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation, said: “The Safer Roads Fund shows that targeted, evidence‑led investment can make a real difference – saving lives while delivering excellent value for money. By focusing on the roads where risk is highest, the programme is helping to prevent serious harm and create safer journeys across the country.”
Suzy continues: “This has been a truly transformative programme – not just for the 100 high‑risk routes improved, but for the way road safety is delivered.”
She added: “The Safer Roads Fund has helped build Safe System skills, tools and confidence within road authorities, shifting practice from reacting to crashes to proactively designing risk out of the network. That change in capability is one of the programme’s most important long‑term benefits.”
The Fund has focused heavily on rural A‑roads, where safety risk can be high and alternative routes limited. Its use of iRAP star ratings is now informing wider national approaches to road safety.
The new report concludes that, to support the new national road safety strategy, continued investment in proactive, evidence‑led programmes like the Safer Roads Fund will be critical to reducing deaths and serious injuries and achieving long‑term road safety goals.
Alongside the report, two awards are presented for Safer Roads Fund schemes that are set to reduce death and serious injury by a high proportion, where delivery has been swift and where communication has been exemplary. The Urban Safer Roads Fund Scheme Award goes to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council for their scheme on the A4030 which is expected to prevent 24 deaths and serious injuries over the next 20 years. The Rural Safer Roads Fund Scheme Award goes to Derbyshire County Council and Sheffield City Council for their scheme on A57 which is due to prevent 93 deaths and serious injuries over the next 20 years.
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