Grant funding totalling £750k to be made available for innovative road safety projects
The Road Safety Trust has released details of its forthcoming Large Grants round, with funding of up to £200,000 available for innovative and high impact road safety projects.
Opening in early April, applicants will be invited to bid for funding relating to one of two themes:
Preventing harm linked to drug-impaired driving and motorised riding, or
Safer vehicles
These themes align with priorities set out in the UK Government’s National Road Safety Strategy, which emphasises tackling the use of drink and drugs and also highlights the role of technology, innovation and data in improving vehicle safety.
Funding of between £50k-£200k per project will be available out of a total budget of around £750k and, with not long to go until the round opens, prospective applicants are encouraged to start thinking about their bids now.
Louise Palomino, Grants and Impact Director at The Road Safety Trust said: “It’s important to us that any project or intervention that we fund can make a demonstrable difference to preventing harm on our roads and making them safer for all users – and the publication of the National Road Safety Strategy gives this even greater significance.
“I look forward to seeing the proposals that are submitted for consideration once the round opens in the Spring.”
For the theme of ‘Preventing harm linked to drug-impaired driving and motorised riding’, we welcome proposals that will strengthen the evidence base and improve the practical response to preventing and tackling drug-impaired driving and riding including illegal drugs, prescription medication and a combination of substances. Applications should focus on:
Improving data and intelligence on the scale and nature of drug-impaired driving and riding. This could include, but is not limited to, understanding socioeconomic and or/demographic differences (e.g. by age, gender, location, and ethnicity).
Understanding patterns of risk, including poly-substance use (including in combination with alcohol)
Understanding and improving the advice given to patients regarding the effects of medications on driving and riding
The relationship between medication use, driving and riding impairment and crash risk.
Examining the implementation and acceptability** of prevention and enforcement approaches for drivers and riders intoxicated by alcohol or drugs
For the theme of ‘Safer Vehicles’, we welcome proposals that will help build the evidence needed to reduce risk in a changing road and vehicle environment. Applications should focus on:
The effectiveness of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) with a focus on addressing user behaviour, distraction and human-technology interface factors
Understanding the bypassing or disuse of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
Optimising the use of in-vehicle post-crash data to facilitate emergency response
Using in-vehicle motorcycle data to detect and understand motorcycle risk
Understanding and tackling the prevalence and use of cloned and ghost plates
Adapting roads policing to the introduction of automated vehicles
All projects under consideration should:
Address a clearly identified road safety problem, including new and emerging risks
Be methodologically sound
Consider how findings and practical interventions can be used in practice
Contribute to a more robust and up-to-date evidence base
Support the UK Government’s 2026 Road Safety Strategy
Following a successful pilot with its Autumn 2025 Small Grant round, the Trust will once again adopt a two-stage application process which will offer prospective grantees early feedback on their proposal, and then additional guidance for those invited to submit full bids.
Applications are welcome from UK-based organisations only, with public sector bodies, professional associations, registered charities and university departments among those encouraged to apply.
Further updates, including confirmation of the opening date, will be provided soon – make sure you’re following us on LinkedIn for the latest news from The Road Safety Trust, or you can also sign up for our quarterly newsletter.
12 February 2026