Our successful campaigning for drivers

The RAC has a long history of campaigning on behalf of drivers. We were there at the very beginning of motoring and even helped shape the first rules of the road. Today, we know how important driving still is for people, so we remain as committed as ever to improving the lives of everyone who uses the road.

We identify the issues that matter most by listening to our members. We carry out in-depth research via our monthly Driver Opinion Panel and the RAC’s long-established annual Report on Motoring, which has been running continuously since 1989.

We use the findings to campaign for change. We consistently highlight what’s wrong in hard-hitting media stories, give interviews on radio and television, and propose common-sense ideas for what needs to be done. We call on local and central government, MPs and ministers at Westminster for action and liaise closely with the key Whitehall officials, especially within the Department for Transport, to ensure drivers’ voices and our messages are heard.

Read on to find out about recent RAC's campaign successes for drivers:

The cost of driving

✅ Fuel Finder launches, bringing increased transparency to fuel prices

Through its Fuel Watch initiative, the RAC has done more to campaign for fairer fuel prices than any other motoring organisation. This culminated in February with the launch of the Government’s Fuel Finder scheme which compels retailers to report pump prices. Consequently, drivers can now use apps to find the lowest petrol and diesel prices near them, just as the myRAC app has been doing since 2023.

Find out more on the RAC Fuel Watch page.

✅ Fuel duty rate kept down

We regularly highlight the tax burden drivers face every time they fill up so we were pleased when the Prime Minister confirmed in May that the 5p fuel duty discount – first introduced in the early days of the Ukraine war – would stay in place until the end of the year to help drivers struggling with increased costs at the pumps due to the Iran conflict. A penny was due to be added back on in September and 2p in December and the final 2p in March 2027.

The state of the roads

✅ Councils’ access to full roads funding dependent on them completing preventative maintenance

For too long, councils have focused on short-term, reactive repairs to their roads, which is one of the reasons the condition of so many of them has declined. Now, after pressure from the RAC, a significant share of the funds councils receive from central government to maintain their roads depends on them completing preventative maintenance – including surface dressing, that can prevent potholes appearing in the first place. In addition, our longstanding call for roads funding to be agreed over greater periods of time has been heard by the Government as it has told councils how much money they will receive for the next five years. Knowing how much money they have to spend will enable councils to plan long-term maintenance programmes.  

Road safety 

✅ Casualty reduction targets reintroduced

The RAC has long called for formal casualty reduction targets to be reintroduced after they were scrapped in 2010. The RAC is therefore pleased to see the Government's Road Safety Strategy – published in January – sets bold targets to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads.

✅ Government consults on introducing alcohol interlocks to cut drink-driving

The RAC, through its backing of the Lock Out Drink-Driving campaign, advocates for courts to have the power to order repeat and high-risk drink-drivers to have alcohol interlocks ('alcolocks') fitted to their vehicles. Following a successful event in Parliament to demonstrate the technology to MPs and peers, the RAC is pleased the Government decided to consult on the possibility of introducing them to cut reoffending as part of the Road Safety Strategy. Visit media.rac.co.uk/lock-out-drink-drivers-campaign to find out more.

✅ Stop Excessive Speeders campaign launched

Speed is the leading cause of fatal road collisions. In June, the RAC hosted MPs and peers in Westminster to launch the Stop Excessive Speeders campaign, calling on the Government to allow courts to order drivers caught speeding excessively or on several occasions to have speed limiters installed in their vehicles to stop them doing so again. Visit media.rac.co.uk/stop-excessive-speeders-campaign to find out more.

✅ Further research on headlight glare confirmed

The RAC's work over many years led to the Government commissioning its first report into the problem of dazzling headlights. As part of the Road Safety Strategy, it has committed to follow-on research to better understand the problem and what can be done about it. Alongside this, the RAC continues to represent drivers' views on glare at a national and international level.

✅ Consultation on introducing new vehicle safety technologies concludes

Since 2022, the RAC has called on the Government to mandate all new vehicles sold in the UK be fitted with safety systems, including Advanced Distraction Warnings and Intelligent Speed Assistance. These systems are already commonplace on vehicles sold elsewhere in the world, including in the EU since July 2024. We were therefore pleased to see that the Road Safety Strategy included a consultation on whether these systems should be introduced as standard in the UK.

✅ Vehicle cloning and 'ghost' number plates included as part of national Road Safety Strategy

In recognition of the growing problem of number plate fraud, the RAC is pleased to see the Government has consulted on tackling this issue in the Road Safety Strategy. 'Ghost' plates that can’t be read by enforcement cameras and cloned plates which illegally copy the registration of another vehicle, have become a menace of modern-day motoring – something which the RAC has been highlighting consistently as drivers support firm action being taken in this area.

Civil enforcement

✅ Councils given new powers to tackle obstructive pavement parking

Most drivers want to see the problem of obstructive pavement parking tackled according to RAC research. Nobody walking or wheeling should be forced into the road due to poor parking. The Government’s proposals should clear the way for councils to prevent pavement parking where it causes problems but permit drivers to partially park on pavements where doing so helps keep traffic flowing and doesn’t inconvenience other people.