Labour has revealed plans to introduce new national guidance on road safety education, based on the rules of the Highway Code.

The guidance, which will be published later this year, will be presented as part of wider efforts to improve safety on UK roads.

The Department for Transport explained it will shape how road safety education, training and publicity campaigns are developed and delivered across Britain.

The move follows the launch of the Government’s new Road Safety Strategy, published earlier this year, which targets a range of road offences and aims to reduce deaths and injuries on the roads.

Alongside the new guidance, ministers have also confirmed it will publish a manual designed to support what it calls a “Lifelong Learning” approach to road safety.

This would hope to encourage drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to keep learning about road rules and safety throughout their lives, rather than only when learning to drive.

Addressing a written question by Helen Maguire, MP for Epsom and Ewell, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of implementing a public awareness campaign to promote the new Highway Code rules, Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said improving road safety was a top priority for ministers.

“Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users,” she said.

She added that the Government’s long-term plans were set out earlier this year, saying: “That is why on January 7 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.”

The announcement also builds on changes made to the Highway Code in 2022, which introduced a new hierarchy of road users. Under those changes, drivers are expected to take greater responsibility for the safety of more vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.

At the time, the Department for Transport ran large-scale advertising campaigns under its THINK! branding to raise awareness of the changes.

“Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes,” Ms Greenwood shared.

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The Government said these campaigns are still ongoing in various forms. “Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding,” Ms Greenwood said.

The Minister added promotion of the Highway Code changes would continue through social media channels and through partner organisations linked to the DfT.

However, the Government has admitted awareness of the Highway Code changes remains patchy, even several years after they were introduced.

“However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code,” Ms Greenwood stated. “We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.”

As part of its next steps, Labour said the new national guidance will be the first of its kind and will set out how road safety education should be handled at every stage of life.

“As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety,” she added.

The Transport Minister confirmed that the guidance and manual would support this approach. Details on exactly how the new guidance will be enforced, or whether it will lead to further rule changes for drivers, have not yet been published.

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