Section 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006 has not yet been brought into force, and there is no confirmed implementation date set.
- Section 19 enables the Secretary of State for Transport to make regulations — for example on exemptions from posted speed limits for emergency or other vehicles, linked to mandated training — but it has not yet been commenced and currently remains un-implemented on the statute book.
In April 2024, the Department for Transport said it was considering how best to take forward implementation and had not laid the necessary secondary legislation.
By June 2025, Ministers stated that officials were still working on the complex draft regulations required to commence Section 19, and no timetable for laying those regulations had been set. Once that work is complete, the Government will consider enabling Section 19, particularly in relation to mandated driving instruction standards for emergency services.
In short: there is currently no published implementation date for Section 19. Its commencement depends on the Government completing and laying secondary legislation, which remains under development.
There is no publicly confirmed statutory review process of emergency vehicle exemptions linked specifically to Section 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006 at this time, but the Government’s stated proposals and consultation intentions strongly suggest that the regimes of exemption will be reviewed and re-set when Section 19 is brought into force.
Here’s what is currently clear from available Government information:
What Section 19 is intended to do
- Section 19 has not yet been commenced, and requires secondary legislation (regulations) before it can take effect.
- The regulations to commence Section 19 are expected to replace the existing speed limit exemption regime under Section 87 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 with a new scheme under Section 19.
How exemptions will be handled under Section 19
- Government consultation documents have proposed that:
- Section 19 will allow the Secretary of State to designate additional vehicle purposes as exempt from posted speed limits (beyond the current police, fire, ambulance list), subject to justification.
- Regulations will include mandatory high-speed driver training standards that drivers must meet before being permitted to exceed speed limits or otherwise operate under exemptions.
- The regime for granting exemptions will be set out in secondary legislation (i.e. the regulations made under Section 19) rather than left solely in primary legislation.
Government statements about broader changes
- A written parliamentary answer in 2023 indicated the Government intends that the legislation to commence Section 19 will:
- create new emergency exemption purposes;
- set a simplified process for adding further emergency purposes via secondary legislation;
- harmonise access to blue lights and sirens for certain voluntary responders.
What this implies about review
It does not yet appear that an independent statutory review process (e.g. a mandated formal “review clause”) has been published in relation to Section 19. However:
- Because the current consultation proposals would reshape the exemption framework, the exemptions themselves would, by necessity, be reviewed and re-defined as part of that regulatory process.
- Regulations will likely spell out how exemptions apply, the conditions for training and certification, and any ongoing review mechanisms (for example, periodic consultation requirements or regulatory reviews), but those details will only become clear once the draft regulations are laid and consulted on.
Summary
Yes — when Section 19 is implemented, the existing exemptions for emergency vehicles (currently under Section 87 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984) are expected to be reviewed and re-set in new regulations made under Section 19, including the scope of exemptions and training requirements.
