Main report into seven technology packages
The objective of this study was to quantify the benefits and costs that would arise from mandating the fitment of up to 19 vehicle safety technologies to new cars, vans, lorries, buses and coaches in Great Britain. This will provide the Department for Transport with an evidence base to develop policy options for ministers that are cost-effective and impactful for Great Britain in order to enable safer and cleaner transport while minimising the negative impacts.
This cost-benefit analysis has been undertaken to determine the impacts that would arise from seven interventions, i.e. mandatory implementation of different technology packages, compared with the business-as-usual case, i.e. continued voluntary adoption of the technologies in parts of the vehicle fleet in a market environment where technologies are ;mandatory in the EU for the same vehicle categories. The study quantified and monetised safety, environmental and traffic benefits, and fitment and maintenance costs over a 15-year appraisal period extending from 2025 to 2039.
It was found that all seven packages bring benefits outweighing the costs with BCRs between 4.3 and 5.7, i.e. provide very high value for money, and take advantage of synergies between different technologies, such as lower costs due to sensor sharing, when implemented jointly. Over the entire appraisal period, the packages may be expected to prevent between approximately 5,000 and 14,000 killed or seriously injured casualties on Great Britain's roads depending on the technology package selected and when compared to business as usual.
Addendum: Technology package 'All technologies excluding AIF'
This addendum concerns the technology package ";All technologies excluding AIF". The results reported were created using the method and tools described in the main report: Seidl et al. (2024). It was found that the technology package "All technologies excluding AIF" brings benefits outweighing the costs with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 5.4, i.e. it provides very high value for money, and takes advantage of synergies between different technologies, such as lower costs due to sensor sharing. Over the entire appraisal period, the package may be expected to prevent approximately 14,000 killed or seriously injured casualties on Great Britain's roads when compared to business as usual.
