Wales targets 40% cut in road deaths by 2040 under new 15-year safety plan
The Welsh Government has published a 15-year road safety plan for Wales with a headline target of cutting road deaths by 40% by 2040.
Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport, launched the Road Safety Partnership Plan 2026-2040 today in a written statement.
The plan sets a target of no more than 58 road deaths per year by the end of the period, measured against a five-year average for 2035 to 2040.
In 2024, 84 people were killed on Welsh roads, 1,007 were seriously injured, and a further 2,914 suffered slight injuries.
The estimated cost of road collision casualties in Wales in 2024 was at least £569 million.
The plan uses a baseline of 96 deaths per year, calculated from figures between 2018 and 2024, excluding 2020 and 2021 because of the impact of Covid-19 on traffic volumes.
Over that six-year period, 481 people died on Welsh roads, the equivalent of more than one person every four days.
The plan adopts a Vision Zero approach, under which no level of death or serious injury is treated as acceptable.
It is built around a Safe System framework that covers road design and maintenance, speed limits and enforcement, driver education and licensing, vehicle safety standards, and emergency response.
Ken Skates said the plan was based on “the principle that our life and health should not be compromised by our need to travel.”
The plan was jointly signed by Ken Skates, Jeremy Miles, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and Jane Hutt, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice.
A new multi-tiered governance structure will oversee delivery, chaired by the Welsh Government minister responsible for transport.
Additional targets within the plan cover pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, children under 17, young people aged 17 to 24, and road users aged 65 and over.
A target for serious injuries will be set separately once all four Welsh police forces have moved to an injury-based reporting system.
Ken Skates also welcomed the recently published UK Government road safety strategy, saying both plans were grounded in the Safe System approach and a commitment to Vision Zero.
The plan states that Vision Zero is a long-term ambition and that targets will be reviewed every five years, with interim reports due in 2030 and 2035.
A detailed delivery plan with specific actions and safety performance indicators is expected to follow, though no date has been given for its publication.
North Wales Police and Flintshire County Council were asked to respond.
Check live fuel prices near you before you set off.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email news (@) deeside.com
NEW: Add Deeside.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Latest News
