Abstract
Major elements in the U.K. road traffic system are identified. The system is analyzed in terms of it's component sub-system and it's control elements. Control if exercised requires definition of overall and sub-system objectives; in the U.K. there is no overall responsibility for control and different agencies often adopt uncorrelated policies to achieve broadly similar aims, leading to sub-optimisation within the system. One reason for this is the lack of an accepted model of the total system.