Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Wednesday, 28 April 2021

BBC News

• Self-driving cars to be allowed on UK roads this yearThe government previously said it hoped to legalise hands-free driving by spring 2021.

Department for Transport

• Anti-ageing roads could keep roadworks at bayA new type of material that acts like an anti-ageing cream for roads could prevent the need for roadworks and reduce the environmental impact.

The Guardian

• Self-driving cars could get green light for use on UK motorways this yearAutomated lane-keeping systems likely to be allowed only when traffic is moving slowlyMotorists could legally allow their cars to “self-driveâ€� on British motorways later this year but only slowly, the government has announced.Drivers could soon be allowed to read a newspaper or watch a film via the car's built-in screen in periods of slow-moving traffic, using automated lane-keeping system (Alks) technology that makes the car stay in lane and a safe distance from other vehicles.

Times Online

• Motorists in driverless cars allowed to check emails and watch TV in traffic jams [subscription]Motorists will be permitted to check emails and even watch TV at the wheel under plans to legalise driverless technology by the end of this year.
• Road pricing needed to plug tax deficit left by electric cars [subscription]A pay-per-mile road-pricing system must be introduced by the end of the decade because the switch to electric cars risks leaving a £40 billion hole in the public finances every year, MPs have been told.

Birmingham Post

• Revolutionary JCB machine used to fix potholes on M6 motorwayThe JCB Pothole Pro was launched at the beginning of the year to help fix the UK's pothole problem

Bristol Live

• Love them or hate them, e-scooters are changing BristolWhat next as million-kilometre experiment throws up big questions for city?

London Evening Standard

• Campaigners condemn cover-up culture at Highways England over rejected FOIsInternal emails reveal attempts made by the agency to reject FOI requests over its Port of Liverpool access scheme.
• Self-driving cars given green light for UK motorway use later this yearSelf-driving cars enabling drivers to take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel could be permitted on UK motorways later this year.
• How do self-driving cars work?Ten questions answered on the technology being allowed on Britain's roads this year.

New Civil Engineer

• Council rejects Highways England plans to infill heritage rail bridgeHerefordshire Council has rejected Highways England’s planning applications to infill a disused railway bridge.
• Calls for investigation into ‘insidious cover-up culture’ at Highways EnglandInternal emails sent between senior Highways England officials and members of the organisation’s Freedom of Information (FOI) team show deliberate attempts to obfuscate the FOI process, according to MPs and campaign groups.