If you thought the roads were crowded at the moment you haven’t seen anything. That’s according to a leading think thank which has investigated the future of transport in the UK. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) forecasts that by 2050, there will be millions more cars on UK roads but less space to accommodate them. The good news is there could be a fall in motoring costs. Read on to see what changes we can look forward to.
Drivers are likely to face even tougher traffic enforcement from December onwards. Under new plans any council in England and Wales will be able to fine drivers for traffic offences. That means up to 300 councils will be able to apply to take over traffic enforcement. Read on to find out how this will hit drivers.
Car drivers, particularly in cities, are having to deal with a new feature: the low traffic neighbourhood. Brought in during first pandemic lockdown in mid-2020, they’ve split neighbourhoods. Some people are very pro; others seriously anti. Read on to find out all about LTNs as they’re often known.
Do you remember what you were doing 25 years ago? What car you were driving, how much you spent on fuel and how congested the roads were?
Even if you don’t, you may recall signing up for cover from a new breakdown company. It was called Green Flag and caused a splash by sponsoring the England football team.
Twenty-five years later and Green Flag is still offering the same great service. Motoring, however, has changed significantly. It might not be quite beyond all recognition but things are certainly very different.
This could be a less frequent sight if new plans for lane charging get the nod (Picture iStock/Northlightsimages)
Plans are being drawn up to reduce roadworks and slash the number of potholes. The government wants to charge utility firms for the amount of time they occupy roads. In addition, there are proposals to swap roadworks for pavement works. The idea is to reduce the frequency that roads are dug up and cut potholes.
It is estimated that there are 2.5m road openings per year by gas, water and cable companies. The disruption to drivers by companies digging the road up costs the UK economy £4billion a year. And a new report reveals council roadworks overran by 132,000 days between April and July 2017. Read on to find out how the roadworks dilemma might be solved.
That familiar feeling of waiting for traffic lights to wake up and turn green could be a thing of the past thanks to new intelligent signals.
Currently the majority of lights on Britain’s roads are programmed to change at timed intervals. And with the number of signals growing from 23,000 in 1994 to 33,000 in 2014, it’s estimated traffic lights add two minutes to every car journey made. Incredibly, that’s calculated to cost the nation’s economy £16bn a year, or one per cent of GDP.
So what can be done about traffic lights and hold-ups? Experts say the answer is a new generation of intelligent traffic light.
The daily commute. On top of regular journey times, drivers waste hours in traffic (Picture © Volvo)
However, it’s in the Midlands where the biggest increases have been seen, with congestion up by 37 per cent (to 30 hours) in North Staffordshire and 33 per cent (to 28 hours) in Coventry.
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