Local authorities are now able to apply for grants to fund projects that explore how technology can reduce road offending and improve road safety.

The Road Safety Trust, a road safety charity, will open its Main Theme Programme to applications on 25 February. The 2020 funding was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reinstated for 2021.

Grants are available for up to two or three years depending on the programme and can range from £10,000 up to £200,000. Since it was established in 2014, the Road Safety Trust has awarded grants worth £3.7m to 49 different projects.

‘We had to postpone this round of funding in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are pleased to be able to re-introduce it for 2021,’ said Sally Lines, chief executive of the Road Safety Trust.

‘The use of developing and emerging technologies will have even more of an impact on the way we live in 2021. We would like to see a focus on the innovation that is happening throughout the UK and projects that demonstrate resilience to and take account of challenges relating to COVID-19.

‘We want to use this grant scheme to really explore and benefit from the use of technology to improve road safety and in turn help us work towards our vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.’

The Main Theme Programme will open for applications from 25 February 2021 until 19 April.