PACTS Executive Director, David Davies, has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, expressing our dismay that the vehicle safety standards for new cars and vans are now behind those for other parts of Europe, including Northern Ireland. This follows a campaign by PACTS, supported by six former transport ministers and the Safe Roads for All Alliance, for the UK to fully adopt the new safety standards which it helped to develop until leaving the EU.
In a letter addressing several major UK road safety issues, he says
“We fully recognise that the UK now has the independence to make its own decisions on such matters but we cannot see any technical case for failing to adopt these higher safety standards and demonstrate that the UK wants be at the forefront of vehicle safety. The government has frequently said that Brexit will not lead to a lowering of standards. I’m afraid currently we can only conclude that these regulations are being held hostage to concepts of Brexit freedoms which simply do not hold water.”
DfT ministers have continued to simply say that they will “do what is in the UK’s interests”.
PACTS intends to continue to press the government on this matter.
