A West Yorkshire charity is backing calls for an update to vehicle safety regulations - including mandatory safety features in all new cars.

Brake, along with AXA UK, led a joint letter addressed to Transport Secretary Louise Haigh MP, in which safety measures such as intelligent speed assistance, advanced emergency braking and driver-drowsiness-detection systems were called for.

The letter was endorsed by over 50 organisations and individuals, including the AA, Honda and the RAC.

The package of measures, known as the Vehicle General Safety Regulation, has already been rolled out in Europe.

It has been estimated that updating the existing GB Type Approval Scheme with the measures could prevent more than 1,700 deaths and 15,000 serious injuries over the next 16 years, saving up to £7 billion in health costs.

Road safety campaigner Meera Naran, whose son Dev Naran was eight years old when he was killed in a road collision, said: "It is vital that the Government adopts these measures to prevent more families having to go through what ours has.”

Research from Kirklees-based Brake and AXA UK in 2023 revealed that 63% of drivers are prepared to pay more for safety features.

The text of the joint letter can be read at https://www.brake.org.uk/files/downloads/Letter-to-Transport-Secretary-calling-for-vehicle-General-Safety-Regulation-updates_Final.pdf?v=1720539684.