This Road Safety Strategy is the first pan-Defence approach to keeping Ministry of Defence (MOD) people and other road users safe and it represents the MOD's long-term commitment to ending the toll of armed forces deaths from road traffic collisions.
In 2022, over 3,800 land traffic collisions (LTCs) were reported to the Movements and Transport Safety Regulator (MTSR), resulting in one on duty death and 44 injuries. A further nine armed forces personnel were killed in off duty incidents during 2021.
Whether on or off-duty, LTCs remain a leading cause of fatalities and injuries across the MOD.
In the 2018/2019 Annual Assurance Report, the Defence Safety Authority (DSA) recommended that the newly created Defence Safety and Environment Committee (DSEC) develop a road safety strategy.
Reducing land transport related trauma is not just a legal duty-of-care and an operational imperative, but also a moral obligation to reduce trauma and loss, to protect MOD people, equipment, and the public.
In recent years, LTC-related fatalities have accounted for around 1 in 5 deaths of armed forces personnel. When adjusted for age and gender, it is estimated that armed forces personnel are at a 50% increased risk of dying from a land traffic collision compared to the general population in Great Britain. The latest figures demonstrate a stagnation in UK regular armed forces fatalities. These figures do not include injuries, or members of the public harmed in collisions with armed forces vehicles. Sporadic campaigns have sought to address LTC risks, but it is clear that a more strategic approach is required.
The Strategy sets out the MOD's road safety vision, which is to establish a world leading safety culture across Defence, eliminating fatalities whilst enhancing capability, and where the value of safety and environmental protection is recognised by everyone.
In doing so, it aims to:
Eliminate fatalities whilst enhancing capability.
Minimise injury through learning.
Protect the environment from harm.
The Defence Road Safety Strategy is designed to deliver Defence’s HS&EP Vision in the specific context of road safety.
Ministry of Defence March 2023