Highways England believes technology will play an increasingly major role in keeping people moving and the country connected.
In its newly unveiled vision for the strategic road network, Highways England said an intelligent network coupled with connected vehicles would improve how efficiently roads are maintained and simultaneously improve safety. In another development drones could also be used to fly overhead and report back on incidents, and cars could be programmed to spot potholes on motorways and automatically transmit the information to Highways England to schedule repairs.
In its Strategic Road Network Initial Report, published on December 13, 2017, the government company also stressed the importance of keeping existing roads properly maintained in a way which minimises disruption to road users and local communities.
“We are delivering…£15bn of government investment to give people safe, efficient and reliable journeys, and provide businesses with the links they need to prosper and grow,” said Highways England chief executive, Jim O’Sullivan. “Because people’s journeys are important to us we are setting out our high level aspirations which will help ensure the network continues to drive economic growth, jobs and prosperity, and keeps traffic moving.”
The report will help inform the government’s next road investment strategy, which begins in 2020.
Commenting on the report, Russell Goodenough, client managing director, transport sector, at Fujitsu UK & Ireland said: “These proposals to transform England’s motorways highlights that the transport industry is at the crossroads between the old and the new. We’re expecting continuous transformation in the sector, and seeing Highways England design new roads with connected vehicles in mind is confirming the speed at which the industry is innovating.
“Making smart motorways the new norm will help us determine how autonomous vehicles fit into our existing transport infrastructure. This, of course, will also help shape the public’s understanding of connected and driverless cars, which is paramount if we want to see these hit our roads.”
“Highways England rightly identifies that we need to invest in our roads against a backdrop of increasing demand, but fails to consider how to harness technology to avoid unnecessary travel and, in particular, avoid travelling during the morning and evening peaks,” said Philippa Oldham, head of Transport and Manufacturing at IMechE. “A transport network that is over-burdened at peak hours and relatively quiet for much of the rest of the day is an inherently inefficient system. In a time of mass digitisation, our transport network has an opportunity to use these tools to improve the efficiency, robustness and design of our roads. Such information could then be used to prioritise investment schemes in a logical, evidence-based way.”
Being a HGV driver i witness a lot of the road network and this so called “smart motorway”all i see when the speed limit lights are on for miles and miles is congestion,whoever thinks leaving speed limits on when theres no need obviously dosent drive very often turn them off when the problem has gone, why do you think theres so many accidents everybodys bunched up cause we are to scared to get a fine like i said turn them off when not needed.To have smart motorways needs a smart human being and what i witness everyday we dont have any in these control rooms maybe its more important looking at social media than what is actually happening on the road network.2am M42 30mph nobody else on the road apart from me what do i do slow down or take a chance of a ticket and someone running up my rear end oh i drive a hazardous tanker.
Exactly.
all these plans and none of them will stop the motorways grinding to a halt more often over the next 10 years. Pessimistic am I?…yes from what I see on the motorways every day. This is because: the road surfaces are in a constant bad state of repair meaning lane closures, car’s and lorries still break down on the ‘all lane running’ sections – for the average non company car drivers they are keeping cars longer due to inflation and poor wages therefore greater probability of breakdowns. Driverless Cars are not the answer and even if this develops sufficiently, they will be stuck in the same queues! Companies still don’t use technology enough to reduce travelling to and from meetings – employees drive the length of the country in one day for single short meetings. The demise of high street shopping in favour of purchases from Internet sites has seen tremendous growth and is continuing, meaning more goods vans and lorries on the road. The key point is ‘too little too late’ with no credible Integrated Transport policy from successive governments over the past 50 years. Highways England is using sticking plaster on the areas of congestion only for another wound to pop open. Add the Human Factor described in Steven’s post and there you have the set of limitations and some bad days ahead for the regular drivers. Perhaps the used of ‘long Termism’ might come back to into vogue?