Large Grants funding round is now open with up to £200k for road safety projects
The Road Safety Trust’s Spring 2026 ‘Large Grants’ programme has officially launched today (Tuesday 7 April), with funding of up to £200,000 available for innovative and high impact road safety projects.
Grants of between £50k-£200k are available from a total funding pot of £750k, for research projects and interventions that will make a positive impact on the safety of our roads.
Applicants are now invited to bid for funding for projects that will address one of two specific themes:
Preventing harm linked to drug-impaired driving and motorised riding, or
Safer vehicles
Louise Palomino, Grants and Impact Director at The Road Safety Trust, said: “These themes align with the 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.
“As per the past decade of our grant giving work, the Trust is keen to fund projects which can demonstrably prevent harm on our roads and make them safer for all users, and I look forward to seeing the proposals that are submitted for consideration.”
Following a successful pilot with its Autumn 2025 Small Grant round, the Trust has again adopted a two-stage application process, offering 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.
The grantee portal is now live on our website along with a host of useful information and guidance to support applications. Applicants have until 5 May to submit their initial expressions of interest.
For further details please visit our dedicated Large Grants page.
Themes
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
7 April 2026