Estimates show a continued growth in UK road traffic whilst public investment in the road system declines. The paper considers the driver's needs for a more efficient use of the road system and reviews some possible practical solutions together with estimates of their costs and benefits. A survey showed that motorists valued time spent on a journey most; the ease of planning and following a route were also considered important. Examples are given to show that the most significant benefits could be gained on journeys of over five kilometres on unfamiliar routes, where the average inefficiency could be about 20 per cent. Outlines are given of several systems both with and without a traffic responsive base. However it is considered that to gain widespread acceptance, traffic responsive systems are likely to be the most successful. The greater the investment in the infrastructure the lower the cost to individual drivers and the community in general. It is suggested that at present such systems as ROUTE-TEL and CARFAX can be introduced at relatively low costs to public funds providing the essential data base; automatic systems, which offer greater benefits through improved and real time traffic control, can then be evolved from them.
Abstract