A working group set up under TRRL chairmanship has examined the role of improved broadcasting systems for driver information and considered the case for public experiments. The group consisted of representatives of the police, the broadcasting authorities, the home office and the department of transport. It has been concluded that a comprehensive and well coordinated broadcasting system could achieve benefits worth £5m to £10m each year in present traffic conditions, principally as a result of reduced delays. There could also be a small reduction in accidents and additional, but unquantifiable, benefits from such things as reduced anxiety among drivers and increased efficiency of police control. To achieve these benefits it would be necessary to improve procedures for the collection and processing of information and adopt a dedicated network of transmitters broadcasting an appropriate mixture of local and national traffic information. Trials and demonstrations of improved information collection and handling procedures and of the carfax traffic information broadcasting system are recommended. (Author/publisher)
Abstract