Electric avenues - The UK is holding several trials of technology to alleviate traffic congestion. Some suggest that if the systems are implemented out roads could be a model for the world to follow

摘要

Active Traffic Management is not a panacea but it will have its place. Several hundred kilometers of motorway could benefit. IT'S AN ISSUE that affects nearly all of us, yet it barely featured in the various election campaigns: with average journey times getting slower and slower, the UK's motorway network is grinding to a halt. This isn't just frustrating for those of us who use it every day, it's a problem with potentially high economic costs. According to claims by motoring pressure group the RAC Foundation, congestion currently costs transport users and operators at least ￡15bn a year - and this figure could double in the next decade. So what can be done to reverse the situation? Fortunately, amid the clamour for more roads, an increasingly vocal group of planners, engineers and academics is proposing a range of more thoughtful solutions. They claim that technology can make a real contribution to reducing congestion at a fraction of the cost of road-building programmes.