The aim of the new Road Collision Investigation Branch (RCIB) would be to learn lessons from road traffic collisions and make independent safety recommendations to help improve road safety.
The consultation is being launched now due to recent developments in the transport sector, including an increase in electric vehicles, and the rollout of increasingly automated vehicles.
Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at road safety charity Brake welcomed the move: “Currently, information about the perceived cause of a road crash is recorded by police at the time of a collision, but only provides basic insights which simply are not adequate to properly investigate and determine the most effective countermeasures to tackle future road casualties.
“Brake has long advocated for an independent agency to provide the necessary evidence to learn from crashes and so we applaud the Department for Transport for launching today’s consultation.”
The RCIB would operate much like the similar independent bodies that already exist for air, maritime and rail accidents.
Director of the RAC Foundation Steve Gooding said: “We should be challenging ourselves on whether we are understanding all we can about the causes of road collisions and what could be done to prevent them – our research to date suggests that more could be learnt – which is why this consultation is so important and so welcome.”
The consultation runs until December 9, 2021.