The Labour government is facing calls to mandate the installation of life-saving medical devices in every new car registered in England, as part of a major shake-up of road safety policy.
Campaigners Demand Bolder Action
While the government's newly unveiled Road Safety Strategy has been welcomed, advocacy group JumpStart is pushing ministers to adopt more radical measures. The organisation is calling for a legal requirement for all new cars to be fitted with an automated external defibrillator (AED).
This proposal aims to dramatically improve public access to the crucial equipment, which can restart a heart during a sudden cardiac arrest. The campaign highlights a stark statistic: more than 40,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals each year in the UK, with survival rates stubbornly remaining below 10%.
A "Welcome Step" That Needs Strengthening
A JumpStart spokesperson acknowledged the government's strategy as a positive move but argued it must be enhanced with concrete, life-saving actions. "With survival from cardiac arrest stagnant for decades, the Government should respond to clear public demand and consider measures, including JumpStart's proposal on vehicle-based defibrillator access, to save more lives," they stated.
They emphasised that positioning life-saving equipment closer to where emergencies spontaneously happen would directly support the strategy's core goal of preventing thousands of avoidable deaths. "Bringing life-saving equipment closer to where emergencies occur would strengthen the Strategy's ambition," the spokesperson added.
Government and Medical Response
When approached for comment, a Department for Transport spokesperson reiterated that road safety remains a "key priority" for the government and confirmed all measures are under "constant review".
Supporting the broader principle of increasing public preparedness, James Cant, CEO of the Resuscitation Council UK, commented on the value of widespread life-saving skills. "By embedding these life-saving skills into such a widely taken assessment, we can help ensure that more people, from all communities, gain the knowledge and confidence to act during a cardiac arrest," he said.
Medical experts note that a sudden cardiac arrest can strike without any prior warning, although sometimes symptoms like chest pain, fainting, shortness of breath, or extreme fatigue may precede the event. Potential triggers include:
- Chest trauma or a heart attack.
- Severe blood loss or hypothermia.
- Conditions like hypoxemia (low blood oxygen) or near-drowning.
- Living with a serious pre-existing heart condition, such as coronary heart disease.
The campaign by JumpStart positions the humble family car not just as a mode of transport, but as a potential mobile first-response unit in the nation's fight to improve cardiac arrest survival rates.
