‘Bigger than me’: road safety campaigner whose son died in collision welcomes new UK rules | Transport policy

A new road safety strategy unveiled by ministers includes a pledge to mandate safety technology in new vehicles, a move welcomed by campaigners like Meera Naran, who has lobbied for changes since her eight-year-old son, Dev, was killed in a motorway collision in 2018.

Dev’s Law and the Push for Vehicle Safety

The plans, aiming to cut thousands of road deaths by 2035, will incorporate what has become known as “Dev’s Law,” requiring safety technology in new cars in commemoration of Dev Naran.

In 2018, Dev was killed when a lorry collided with the family car on the M6 motorway. The vehicle had stopped on what would have been a hard shoulder, but the area had been converted as part of a smart motorway system. Dev’s grandfather died a few years later from injuries sustained in the crash. Dev’s older brother, Neel, who had complex health needs including epilepsy, died in 2024 after initially being unable to speak or walk following the news of Dev’s death.

Naran initially campaigned for changes to smart motorways but broadened her focus to advocate for safer vehicles overall, specifically highlighting the potential of technology like autonomous emergency braking (AEB). AEB systems alert drivers to potential collisions and automatically apply the brakes if the driver doesn’t react in time.

“Had the lorry involved had autonomous braking, that collision could potentially have been avoided completely and Dev could have walked out and come home to me that night,” Naran said. “So Dev’s Law and AEB really has come from that – my whole campaign has been looking at every element, every factor that’s been involved in Dev’s death. That was a major factor involved and I truly think it’s a life-saving-based technology.”

While various driver-assistance technologies are common in new cars, they are not currently mandatory in Britain.

Naran, 42, a senior lecturer in clinical pharmacy at Leicester’s De Montfort University, emphasized the importance of evidence-based decision-making in her campaign, stating the need to “separating the emotion from the evidence.”

Local transport minister Lilian Greenwood stated the strategy was “built on evidence, but it is driven by the voices of those who have experienced the devastating consequences of road collisions first-hand,” and paid tribute to Naran for her tireless advocacy.

Naran described Dev as her older son Neel’s “best friend and cheerleader,” adding that Neel “slowly gave up” after Dev’s death. She stated her focus has shifted to “waking up every day and using that grief to make something far more important than us and see that change happen.”

Naran expressed the importance of the government’s commitment to the changes, stating, “For me it’s going to be a lifelong campaign to reduce road deaths. I don’t want any other family to go through what we have.”