Steve Gooding, the director of the RAC Foundation, has been chosen as the president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT(UK)) for 2021. He will begin his one-year presidency at the start of the year. Alongside the board of directors and vice-presidents, Steve will promote CILT as the essential home for those involved in the movement of goods and people, and their associated supply chains. Steve will build on the significant work of his predecessor, Paul Sainthouse, who helped steer the Institute through the coronavirus pandemic, supported the work on merging CILT(UK) and CILT International and led the Institute during its centenary year in 2019. Commenting on his appointment, Steve said: “After several years serving as a vice president of CILT, I have come to know the Institute well and I am honoured to be made president. 2021 looks set to be a year when the skills of CILT members will be tested to the full as we start to emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, and come to terms with our new relationship with the EU. "I am keen to see CILT continue to support its members by promoting best practice, providing training and awarding qualifications to deliver on the Institute’s core mission to deliver professionalism in motion.” Steve Gooding became director of the RAC Foundation in 2015. Steve was previously director general at the Department for Transport, responsible for a wide range of issues relating to travel, roads, motoring and logistics, including management of the executive agencies that run driver and vehicle licensing and testing. In a long civil service career he worked on many, mostly transport-related, policy issues. Kevin Richardson FCILT, chief executive, CILT(UK), welcomed the new president, saying: “I am delighted to welcome Steve Gooding as the new president of CILT(UK). Steve’s experience and expertise will help lead CILT into a new era, as we work to develop our professions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and promote the importance of this great profession. I look forward to working with him to ensure this Institute continues to grow in 2021 and beyond.” ENDS Contact at the RAC Foundation: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07711 776448 Contacts at the CILT: Anthony Kendrick - [email protected] | 01536 740117 Max Hodge -  [email protected] |01536 740159 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at:  www.racfoundation.org The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport is the independent international professional body for individuals and companies associated with logistics and transport. It has over 33,000 members in over 31 countries worldwide. CILT(UK) is the UK territorial body of CILT, which has a presence in more than 30 countries across the world. This network of members and contacts can connect all CILT members wherever they are in the world and constitutes the greatest resource of professional expertise within our areas of interest.

Tens of millions of drivers in the UK will welcome the continued freeze in fuel duty announced in the Budget today, says the RAC Foundation. The Budget document says: "The government will freeze fuel duty rates for 2025-26, a tax cut worth £3 billion over 2025-26 which represents a £59 saving for the average car driver. The temporary 5p cut in fuel duty rates will be extended by 12 months and will expire on 22 March 2026. The planned inflation increase for 2025-26 will also not take place." Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Tens of millions of drivers will be breathing sighs of relief. Transport – and for most of us, most of the time, that means the car – is already the second biggest area of average household expenditure. “The news will also be welcomed by big and small firms who own and operate the majority of the UK’s 4.8 million vans and 538,000 HGVs. Had fuel duty increased then their costs would have risen and some or all of that would have been passed onto customers. Higher fuel prices push up the cost of living for us all, whether we drive or not. “We shouldn’t feel too sorry for the Chancellor. She still gets well over half of everything paid at the pumps in a combination of fuel duty and VAT. “The unanswered question is what happens to motoring tax in the future. Long term, the take up of electric vehicles will erode Treasury income from fuel duty. What anyone in the market for a new car, especially one powered by batteries, wants to know is what the cost of running it will be in the years ahead.” The Chancellor also announced an additional £500 million to fix potholes next year: "Providing a nearly 50% increase, on 2024-25, in funding for local roads maintenance. This will go further than the government’s commitment to fix an additional one million potholes across England each year, investing almost £1.6 billion to maintain and renew the nation’s roads, an increase of £500 million on 2024-25." Steve Gooding said: "Any money allocated to improve the shocking state of many of our local roads is welcome, but for all the talk of hundreds of millions of pounds, the country's tens of millions of drivers will only be happy when they see an improvement on the highways they use everyday, those outside their houses. "The long-term solution is a long-term funding settlement for councils so they can finally get on top of what has been a perennial problem." The Budget also contained details of tax differentials to support sales of electric vehicles: "To help drive the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) the government is strengthening incentives to purchase EVs by widening the differentials in Vehicle Excise Duty First Year Rates between EVs and hybrids or internal combustion engine cars. The government is also maintaining EV incentives in the Company Car Tax regime and extending 100% First Year Allowances for zero emission cars and EV chargepoints for a further year." Specifically:   "The government will change the VED First Year Rates for new cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 to strengthen incentives to purchase zero emission and electric cars, by widening the differentials between zero emission, hybrid and internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.• Zero emission cars will pay the lowest first year rate at £10 until 2029-30.   • Rates for cars emitting 1-50 g/km of CO2, including hybrid vehicles, will increase to £110 for 2025-26. • Rates for cars emitting 51-75 g/km of CO2, including hybrid vehicles, will increase to £130 for 2025-26. • All other rates for cars emitting 76 g/km of CO2 and above will double from their current level for 2025-26."   The Treasury's costings document suggests the move will raise an extra £1.695 billlion for the Exchequer by the end of the decade.   Steve Gooding said: "This is less of a nudge and more of a shove to change buyer behaviour in the showroom, but will it incentivise buyers to go battery-electric or simply mean they keep on driving their older, more polluting car for a bit longer?” "However it happens, the faster battery-powered vehicles hit the road the faster they will find their way into the used market and so into the financial reach of many more people." Elsewhere in the Budget the government announced that "roads investment in 2025-26 will be funded through an interim roads settlement, and the third Road Investment Strategy will be set out in the next phase of the Spending Review." It said that it would not be proceeding with a number of "unfunded and unaffordable" schemes on the strategic road network that did not show clear value for money: A5036 PrincessWay A358 Taunton to Southfields M27 J8 Southampton the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout A1 Morpeth to Ellingham ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07711 776448 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation which explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. For more information visit www.racfoundation.org

Those in charge of running our most important roads must increasingly turn their attention to looking after the assets they already manage rather than seeking to add new parts to the network. That is just one of the observations the director Steve Gooding has made in the latest episode of The Infrastructure Podcast. Steve Gooding told the show's host Antony Oliver how he endorsed the approach of National Highways as it prepares for Road Investment Strategy (RIS) 3 of switching attention away from "enhancement towards resilience of the existing network." He said this was necessary for two reasons: "One is about climate resilience and the changing weather patterns we have and the impact they have and the other is that  a lot of the structure and the construction of the National Highways network dates back, as do I, to the early 1960s and like me it needs a bit of work to keep it going." Steve Gooding also noted that perception was perhaps more important than reality when it came to the availability of public chargepoints for electric vehicles, and that too great a focus on the headline number of chargers would miss things that still worried motorists about their availability: “some of them are working and some of them aren’t. And some of them have someone hooked up them already and some haven’t. Some are easier to use than others. It is a mixed picture.” Gooding said that he hadn't yet gone electric himself but had experienced the challenges of recharging during a recent road trip round the south east of England in a plug-in vehicle which has been written up in a recent report. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07711 776448 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation which explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. For more information visit: https://www.racfoundation.org.  

Drivers received more than 11 million parking tickets on private land in the last financial year, official figures show. This is an average of more than 30,000 every day. According to the DVLA it sold 11,052,986 vehicle keeper records to car park management companies in 2022-23. This is 29% higher than the 8,567,204 number in the previous year. The records are used to send out parking charge notices (PCNs or 'tickets') to drivers and vehicle owners for supposed infringements of parking regulations on private land. The number of tickets being issued has exploded since 2012 when wheel clamping on private land was all but outlawed. However, there has been widespread political and public concern about the way some companies in the parking industry operate and in March 2019 the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill became law with the intention of creating a single code of practice, underwritten by ministers, for parking firms to abide by. Alongside the code a single appeals service and a scrutiny board are due to be introduced. However, the draft code was withdrawn last year after a legal challenge by parking firms and a new call for evidence on the level of parking charges and debt recovery fees was subsequently issued. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “In the four-and-a-half years since legislation was passed to create a single code of practice and address the worst excesses of private parking companies, as many as 36 million private parking charges may have been issued. “The ballooning rate at which the volume of vehicle keeper requests continues to grow is a clear sign that something is seriously awry, creating distress for drivers and hassle for legitimate parking managers alike. “While some drivers will choose to flout the rules and risk being penalised, the vast majority are simply trying to do the right thing. “As the private parking minister recognised recently, most motorists do not choose to break the rules deliberately. “Amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis it is implausible that millions of drivers would knowingly want to risk running up a charge for as much as £100. “Of course, Government needs to get the new private parking framework right after the false start it made last year, but surely that’s a task to be measured in weeks and months, not four-and-a-half years and counting.” The code of practice, which was initially due to come into force across Britain by the end of 2023, stated that the cap on tickets for some parking offences should be halved to £50. The DVLA figures show the number of records obtained from the agency by companies chasing car owners for alleged infringements in private car parks such as at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas. Some 183 parking management businesses requested vehicle owner records in the year to the end of March. ParkingEye was the most active, buying 2.1 million records. The DVLA charges private companies £2.50 per record. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07711 776448 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

Using data on driving styles collected by vehicles could be used to help understand where crashes on the road network are likely to take place before they actually happen. This would lead to pre-emptive road safety interventions rather than those that follow as a reaction to collisions and personal injury. The suggestion is one element of a report published today by a group of senior transport professionals who received funding from the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund. Amongst the authors is the director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding. In the study - Key questions for road investment and spending published by the University of the West of England - the researchers say that much more attention be given to "‘lead’ rather than ‘lag’ indicators across all roads - for example using increasingly available data sources (such as vehicle speeds and harshness of braking) to identify where and why safety risks are likely to arise and inform decisions on appropriate risk mitigations, while relying less on historic data (for example about individual crash locations)." The report points out that in 2021, 1,558 people were killed on Britain's roads which "raises questions over whether and how further improvements in road safety can be achieved, and to what extent spending on the roads themselves should be part of the solution. In 2021 road casualties showed signs of a return to pre-pandemic trends as traffic levels grew back. "While the overall figures for 2021 were lower than pre-pandemic levels, over the second half of the year casualties returned to levels similar to those in 2019." The report also suggests that consideration be given to involving local authorities in speed management: "While the prospect of enabling highway authorities to pursue moving traffic offences such as speeding could potentially reduce the historic reliance on enforcement through road policing and thus make speed management and the associated enforcement a more viable and cost effective tool, it would require the building of an appropriate skillset and a budget for running costs." More broadly, the group of experts – the Road Investment Scrutiny Panel – identified a range of key measures necessary to get the best out of road investment: road spending decisions to be coherent and stand up to scrutiny when viewed in the context of broader policy aims, most notably the statutory duty to achieve a net zero carbon economy decisions to be well-informed both in relation to the existing road network and its use (including ‘connected’ vehicles generating data on driver behaviour such as patterns of harsh braking that could allow identification of locations posing road safety risks) and in terms of future possibilities in a changing and uncertain world more transparency regarding how decisions were arrived at and the underlying analysis. ENDS Contact: For further information, images or interviews, please contact the UWE Bristol Press Office on 0117 3282208 or [email protected] or contact the Panel Chair, Professor Glenn Lyons ([email protected]) or the Co-convenor, Professor Steve Gooding ([email protected]). Notes to editors: The Road Investment Scrutiny Panel is comprised of Professors: Glenn Lyons (UWE Bristol – Panel Chair); Steve Gooding (UWE Bristol – Co-convenor); Jillian Anable (University of Leeds); Nicola Christie (University College London); Zoe Davies (University of Kent); Stephen Glaister (Imperial College London); Phil Goodwin (UWE Bristol); and Karen Lucas (University of Manchester). The Panel Secretary is Andrew Crudgington (freelance researcher, technical writer and facilitator). The seven questions set out in the Panel’s report are: What would make us feel confident that decisions on future road investment, at both the scheme and aggregate level, are consistent with the legal obligation to deliver a credible pathway to the decarbonisation of the UK economy by 2050? What would make us feel confident that the policy imperative and opportunities to promote biodiversity enhancement are being recognised and pursued on their own merits, as opposed to biodiversity being ‘accommodated’ in pursuit of other goals? How can we be persuaded that the health and social impacts of road spending experienced by individual people and communities are well understood and given sufficient weight at all stages of decision-making? What would give us confidence that appropriate financial provision is being made for operating, maintaining and optimising the performance of the existing road network? What would persuade us that options for investing in improving road safety are being identified and weighed appropriately? What would persuade us that road investment and expenditure decisions - at the scheme and programme level - are the result of serious consideration of a genuinely broad range of options and their merits? What would persuade us that road investment and expenditure decisions are likely to represent value for money over the long term? The University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) has a global and inclusive outlook, with approximately 36,000 students and strong industry networks and connections with over 1,000 employers. Research at UWE Bristol focuses on real world problems and the University plays a pivotal role in the regional economy. With over £300 million invested in infrastructure, buildings and facilities across all Campuses, UWE Bristol is creating a place for learning that is innovative, ambitious, connected, enabling and inclusive. UWE Bristol is ranked 24th in the Guardian university league table. www.uwe.ac.uk The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund is a grant making charity, funded by a legacy from William Rees Jeffreys. The Fund’s objects are to foster improvements in the engineering, management, design and use of roads to deliver safer, more environmentally sensitive, more aesthetically pleasing and more enjoyable outcomes for all road users.  We do this principally by funding projects, research and events; and awarding bursaries to individuals pursuing relevant professional qualifications.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that work on 45 safer roads schemes up and down the country will be accelerated as part of his Growth Plan. In total the government has announced 86 road schemes that he will prioritise to try and stimulate the economy. The RAC Foundation welcomes the proposals but also notes the accompanying 'small print': "Presence on this list does not guarantee, where applicable, funding, planning consent or approval for other regulatory or permitting processes." Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "So, the list is aspirational, rather than a commitment, scheme-by-scheme. Second, nowhere do I see the word ‘maintenance’, ever the Cinderella of highway investments. Maybe it was too much to hope that maintenance would make its way into such a bold, sweeping policy announcement, but as Chancellor Kwarteng and his team at the Treasury settle into their new jobs I’d urge them, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan’s team at DfT, to think about the beneficial economic stimulus that could be delivered through a substantial boost to maintenance funding, perhaps linked to some form of incentive to foster greater efficiency. "With such huge sums of money at stake, it must be time for the highways sector collectively to step up to the plate and play its part in making sure we get maximum bang for the taxpayer's buck. "But third, we were already facing significant cost pressures in the sector before September’s dramatic fall of the pound’s exchange rate – if that situation doesn’t improve we risk being stuck with accelerating far less work that we’d otherwise all like to see." Steve Gooding sets out his full views on the Growth Plan in a 'view point' article for Highways Magazine. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07711 776448 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org The Foundation is a registered charity.

There has been a surge in the number of parking firms accessing vehicle data so they can issue penalties to drivers on private land. According to data published by the DVLA 159 companies brought vehicle-keeper records from the agency in the first three months (April, May and June) of this financial year. That compared with 97 firms in the same period of 2016, an increase of 64%. Between them the companies accessed 1.95 million sets of information between April and June 2021. The information is used to issue drivers and vehicle owners with penalty tickets of up to £100 for supposed parking infringements on private land including shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas. If that level of ticketing continues for the rest of the financial year the annual total would come close to the record high of 8.4 million set in 2019-20. The implementation of a Government-sanctioned code of practice, a single appeals service and a system of charges and penalties that would be more in line with those levied by councils is awaiting ministerial sign-off. Philip Boynes, chief executive of Britain’s biggest parking firm, ParkingEye, told MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee last week that the “average profit of a car parking operator was about 2.1%”. But RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said the DVLA’s figures “cast doubt on the industry view shared with the committee that margins are hanging by a hairsbreadth”. He continued: “If that’s the case then how come more and more appear to be joining the industry that is already on track this year to issue a near-record level of demands for parking charges? “It is inconceivable that more than eight million drivers are setting out each year consciously deciding to flout parking rules and risk ending up with a parking charge. “These numbers, which have risen in leaps and bounds over the last 10 years, suggest we have a system that isn’t working – not for the motorists who are receiving charge demands and not for the private landowners either. “That needs to change, starting with the establishment of a single, clear set of rules and an independent appeals service such that motorists know exactly where they stand and any sharp practice by operators is swiftly identified and rooted out.” Wheel clamping on private land in England and Wales was all but outlawed in 2012 by the Protection of Freedoms Act. However, the act also allowed parking firms to chase vehicle owners for alleged breaches of parking rules rather than having to prove who the driver is. The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 paved the way for the introduction of an official code of practice to replace those drawn up by the industry itself. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation 07711 776448 | [email protected] Notes to Editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

The RAC Foundation is asking the roads regulator to ensure that Highways England is doing all that it can to protect its network from the impacts of extreme weather. In a letter to the Office of Rail and Road the Foundation's director Steve Gooding asks whether - in the face of a seemingly-growing number of extreme weather events - now is the time to revisit the recommendations made in Richard Brown's 2014 report for government on transport resilience and "question whether they went far enough?". While there has rightly been a great deal of recent attention on the Stonehaven rail tragedy where three people were killed following a landslip there is risk that the threats posed to the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are not as well understood. Mr Gooding says that, "historically, weather-related problems are at their worst during winter and have often been associated with snow – indeed David Quarmby, a former chair of the RAC Foundation, headed a government-sponsored inquiry into the impact of icy conditions on the wider road network during the cold winter of 2009-10. "However, rain and flash flooding also pose a risk to the SRN. Such events appear – anecdotally at least - to be rising in frequency and severity, and can no longer be regarded as seasonal; witness the closure of the M25 between junctions 6-8 on August 13 this year." He continues: "Whilst the recently-published Highways England Delivery Plan 2020-25 is clear about the potential impact of flooding and sets out mitigation measures... we think this is an area that warrants application of the ORR investigative eye." The letter was addressed to Professor Stephen Glaister, a non-executive director of the ORR and currently the chair of its highways committee. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

Official regulation of the private parking sector has moved a step closer after the government has launched a consultation on a binding Code of Practice that to replace self regulation. Amongst the measures proposed in the new framework are: A new, tiered approach to parking fines with a cap for less serious offences between £40 and £80 depending on the parking charge system chosen (but both lower than the current £100 cap), and a new, increased fine of up to £120 for drivers who wrongly park in disabled bays or ambulance bays A compulsory 10-minute grace periods before firms can issue a late fine A compulsory 5-minute cooling-off period in which a motorist can consider the terms and conditions and change their mind about parking A crackdown on parking firms using aggressive or pseudo-legal language to intimidate motorists into paying fines A requirement for parking firms to clearly display pricing and terms and conditions of parking, contact details and how to appeal a charge   There will also be the establishment of a single, independent, appeals body together with an appeal charter. Under the charter, "motorists could be able to appeal their fine and see it reduced to a maximum of £20, or cancelled entirely if": they have a mitigating reason for overstaying their parking ticket such as their vehicle breaking down they have made a genuine innocent error, like keying in a digit in their number plate incorrectly they have a valid ticket, permit or Blue Badge but failed to display it correctly   RAC Foundation analysis shows that in 2019-20 the DVLA released 8.4 million sets of vehicle keeper records to private parking companies, up a quarter on the previous financial year. The parking firms use the information to send out penalties to drivers they claim have infringed parking regulations. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "The publication of the government’s consultation document alongside the BSI’s draft code of practice is a major milestone in bringing the provisions of Sir Greg Knight’s Parking Act to life. "It is clearly important that we get the code of practice, and the framework within which it will sit, right, so I would encourage everyone with an interest to respond with their views." The government is also consulting on bringing in further restrictions on pavement parking. Three options are being considered: Improving the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process, under which local authorities can already prohibit pavement parking. A legislative change to allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to enforce against ‘unnecessary obstruction of the pavement’. A legislative change to introduce a London-style pavement parking prohibition throughout England.   Steve Gooding said: “It is coming up to five years since the then transport minister Andrew Jones promised a fresh look at the issue of pavement parking which probably says something about quite how tricky this issue can be. On the one hand obstructing either the carriageway or the footway can cause real problems. On the other many of our streets were laid out long before motor vehicles appeared, and there’s only so much road space to play with. "What the government’s current consultation reveals is that it is hard to make clear cut rules to cover issues where the aim is to get drivers to act considerately and public authorities to enforce proportionately – that said the twin keys to making any new approach work will be in ensuring that drivers are very clear about what is and is not allowed to make compliance easy, and in requiring enforcement authorities to publish information on the number and nature of pavement parking tickets issued so the public can see whether an initiative to promote safer walking has turned into a cash cow somewhere along the line.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org  

The number of diesel cars in Britain has fallen for the first time in at least 25 years, government data shows. In 2019 there were 12.29 million diesels on the roads. This compares with 12.4 million a year earlier. This is the first decline since records began in 1994 when there were just 1.6 million diesels licensed. Last year there were also: 18.8 million petrol cars 90,000 pure battery-electric cars 145,000 plug-in hybrid cars 514,000 mild hybrid cars Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These figures hint at a motoring milestone – the possibility that we have hit or even passed ‘peak diesel’ – due to the collapse in sales of new diesel cars together with the scrapping of older diesels, which have either come to the end of their useful lives or whose owners fear increasing restrictions on their use because of air quality concerns. “Last year also saw the first drop in the volume of diesel fuel sold since the financial crisis.” [iframe class="highcharts-iframe" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 500px;" src="//cloud.highcharts.com/embed/uzosox"] According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders 583,488 new diesel cars were sold in 2019, down 21.8% on the 746,332 sold in 2018. However, diesel-powered vans - which make up 96% of the fleet – increased in number last year, up from 3.86 million to 3.97 million. Steve Gooding added: “Manufacturers have struggled to develop cost-effective zero-tailpipe technologies to power these workhorse vehicles.” The Government has said the ban on sales of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans could be brought forward from 2040 to as early as 2032 in a bid to meet carbon reduction targets. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

The Chancellor has announced in Budget 2020 that the general level of fuel duty on petrol and diesel will stay frozen for another year. It has now been levied at 57.95p per litre since March 2011. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The Chancellor clearly recognised that the coronavirus is creating unprecedented health and economic uncertainties and that because transport is the single biggest area of household expenditure any move to increase this burden would hit drivers’ wallets hard, especially those on lower incomes.” However, the Chancellor also announced that the rebate on duty paid on red diesel would be abolished from April 2022 with some exceptions where it is used for agriculture, fish farming, rail and for non-commercial heating. Rishi Sunak MP also committed £403 million to keeping the plug-in car grant running until 2022-23. An addition £129 million is to be made available for the plug-in van, taxi and motorcycle grants over the same period. It was confirmed that Road Investment Strategy 2 would proceed with funding of £27 billion between now and 2025. Schemes are to include: dualling the A66 Trans-Pennine and upgrading the A46 Newark bypass, addressing congestion on these key routes in the North East and the Midlands improving the M60 Simister Island in Manchester to tackle delays building the Lower Thames Crossing, which will increase road capacity across the Thames east of London by 90%6 building a new, high-quality dual carriageway and a two-mile tunnel in the South West to speed up journeys on the A303, and to remove traffic from the iconic setting of Stonehenge considering how the A1/A19 north of Newcastle and the A1 Doncaster to Darrington in Yorkshire can be improved to speed up journeys and boost economic growth exploring how to connect communities in East Lancashire and West Yorkshire better, and exploring the case for improvements to links between the M4 and the Dorset Coast Additionally, the RIS2 document highlights which of the proposed schemes are smart motorways. It says that these are "subject to stocktake – the sequencing of smart motorway projects will be revisited in light of the smart motorway stocktake when it is concluded. Those that have yet to start major works or which are still in development may have to be rescheduled subject to the findings of the stocktake. Highways England will provide more detail on the status of individual projects later this year.” Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Since 1991 there have been over 50 different proposals for removing traffic from the Stonehenge site, with the most recent tunnel having been confirmed in 2017. "You can certainly hear drivers on the route, and almost the stones themselves, heaving a sigh of relief that the scheme is to go ahead rather than being sent back to the drawing board yet again. "Motorists seeing the relatively small number of new projects which are in limbo subject to the results of the stocktake might be more interested in the review's implications for the many miles of current smart motorway schemes nearing completion but which have been on hold. Resolving any design issues and reassuring drivers about their safety must be at least as high a priority as cracking on with any new project, smart or not." There was also money earmarked for local roads with an extra £500 million a year over the next five years to help tackle the pothole problem. Steve Gooding said: “Total spending on Britain’s local roads has bumped along at around £5 billion annually for the past decade. The question with the funding is not whether it seems like a lot of money but whether it is enough money? “The evidence of motorists’ eyes is that the already-poor state of the roads has worsened significantly following the recent flooding and storms. Whilst the humble pothole is the poster child for a lack of cash for maintenance our own research shows 3,000 council bridges are substandard and the one-time cost of clearing the backlog of work on all 71,500 local authority bridges is now £5.5 billion. “Drivers can still dodge most potholes but when it comes to bridges, finding a way round one that is closed can involve a huge amount of time and effort.” One other thing to come out of the Budget was the publication of a call for evidence on Vehicle Excise Duty. In particular the government wants to know about the effects of moving to a granular system on first registration. This would mean cars no longer put into a broad band when it comes to determining the rate of VED in relation to CO2 emissions but making a calculation based on the exact carbon emission figure. Steve Gooding said: "It is clear that the sweeping simplification of the VED system a few years ago went too far in removing the graduated cost incentive to choose less polluting models. Going granular on CO2 might seem like the pendulum is swinging back too far the other way, but in principle looks more sensible than linking VED to the car's list price. "The trick will be in ensuring any revised system dovetails with company car tax and lease plans, given how few new cars are actually bought outright up-front by individual motorists." ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org  

Please note that more information on whether a vehicle is E10 compatible is available on the gov.uk website. The government has announced plans to introduce a new blend of petrol with a higher proportion of bioethanol next year. Ministers are consulting on a proposal to make E10 - a lower carbon fuel with upto a 10% ethanol content - the new standard grade of petrol replacing the current E5 (5% ethanol). The Department for Transport estimates that by making the change CO2 emissions from transport could be cut by 750,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of taking about 350,000 cars off the road completely. E10 is already widely used in countries such as Belgium, Finland, France and Germany. However, not all cars on the road are E10 compatible. Whilst almost all cars manufactured since 2000 will have been engineered to take E10, RAC Foundation analysis suggests there are still hundreds of thousands of vehicles on the road that can't use the fuel without the threat of damage. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Analysis we have previously done suggests that although the number of E10-incompatible cars is falling each year there could still be over 600,000 of them on the roads. “Some are historic vehicles doing just a few miles a year but many will be older, everyday run-arounds owned by those on lower incomes. “Saying that E5 will still be available is all well and good but not every fuel station will have tanks to dispense it from, and where it is available it is likely to cost more than today which could be an issue for the cost-conscious owners of older cars used to filling up at their local supermarket." A key part of the planned introduction will be driver information. The government consultation says: "Any government-led introduction of E10, as proposed earlier in this document, would have to be accompanied by a comprehensive communications campaign, have concise guidance on compatibility and include an online compatibility checker tool. This would help motorists to quickly and easily identify whether their vehicle is suitable for use with E10" Steve Gooding welcomed the provision of an online vehicle checker. “The introduction of E10 in other countries has been marred by the absence of a comprehensive and trustworthy lookup table for drivers to check whether their vehicle is compatible with the new fuel or not, so it is encouraging to see ministers’ commitment to such a tool to accompany the introduction of E10 here.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org  

Offering higher levels of intuitive in-car technology to older drivers is likely to be more helpful in keeping them safe on the road than any system of mass retesting. There are already 5.5 million driving licence holders in Britain aged 70 or over. This is 41% more than the 3.9 million licence holders in the same age group back in 2012. A review for the RAC Foundation of global research relating to older driver safety says that driving requires strength, co-ordination, good eyesight, flexibility, attention, memory, decision making and judgement, all of which can be affected by age-related decline, hence increasing risk. The study was carried out by Dr Julie Gandolfi of Driving Research Ltd. Whilst most older drivers are very safe, their relative frailty means they are more vulnerable to death and injury when they are involved in a crash even if they haven’t caused it. Evidence points to older drivers being good at trying to self-regulate their driving – for instance not driving at night or in the rush hour – in recognition of their declining abilities. However, they need to be given more objective information to base their decisions on. One method could be the use of in-car telematics systems similar to those already commonly provided with insurance policies that predominantly target young people. So-called black boxes sense and record how vehicles are being driven and this data could highlight to older drivers their strengths and weaknesses behind the wheel. Driver-assist technologies also promise to benefit older drivers. Things such as collision warnings, lane departure alerts, fatigue detection systems and cross-traffic assistance are all recognised by older drivers as being helpful. However, manufacturers must ensure systems are easy and intuitive to use, and that warning signals are easily identifiable and do not create extra confusion or stress for drivers. More-basic technology such as parking assist help make every-day, low-level tasks simpler and quicker. By contrast, international evidence shows that it is extremely difficult to devise a system of mass retesting which produces meaningful road safety gains. In Japan drivers reaching the age of 70 must take part in: A lecture Aptitude tests involving simulator driving, field of vision checks and night vision capability A discussion session An on-road driving assessment Yet despite all this the report says that “research has failed to find overwhelming support for the effectiveness of these measures in reducing at-fault collisions among older drivers.” Steve Gooding of the RAC Foundation said: “For all the sensational headlines, most older drivers have an enviable safety record. However, their sheer number means there is increasing attention on how that safety record is maintained. “One problem is that it is impossible to define the point at which people become an ‘older’ driver because we all age at different rates and in general we are living healthier lives for longer. “While there is a huge range of conditions that will potentially affect our ability to drive, individually we will suffer them at different times and to different degrees. This explains why it is so hard to devise a meaningful retest to be taken at what will always be an arbitrary age. “This report has two key messages. One is that technology has a large role to play in keeping people safe and the other is that any information we can get which encourages and helps us make an informed decision about our ability to drive safely is to be welcomed. “One practical measure we would back is a requirement to have a regular eyesight test, probably to coincide with the ten-year intervals at which people must renew their photocard driving licences and certainly at age 70 when motorists are currently required to self-certify their continued ability to drive.” Julie Gandolfi, the report author, said: “Never before have older drivers had access to so much assistance from vehicle technology, and whilst there were early concerns about a lack of technological familiarity on their part, the literature suggests that appetite among the older driver population for engagement with vehicle technology does exist, and that with appropriate training and guidance, it can offer significant safety benefits and help extend safe driving into older age. “On that basis, it appears that the older drivers of today and tomorrow have access to a comprehensive toolkit giving them the opportunity to drive safely for longer than previous generations – the challenge for the road safety industry lies in helping them to use it effectively.” The Netherlands, Denmark, Cyprus and Ireland require drivers to take an eyesight test at age 70. According to a 2016 report from the Older Drivers Task Force: “For every mile driven, the risk of a person aged 80 or more being killed while driving is, overall, some 10 times higher than the lowest risk 40-49 year old.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org The report is available to download here: https://www.racfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Supporting_older_driver_mobility_Gandolfi_January_2020.pdf  

Some 2,386,780 speeding offences were detected in England and Wales in 2018-19. This was a rise of 4% on 2017-18 when the number stood at 2,292,534. It is a 37% rise on the 1,740,217 speeding offences detected in 2011-12. The total number of all motoring offences detected across the two countries in 2018-19 was 2,837,661, meaning speeding accounted for 84% of them. Of the 2,386,780 speeding offences detected in 2018-19: 44% resulted in the offender being sent on a speed awareness course 34% attracted fixed penalty notices (FPNs) 12% were later cancelled 10% resulted in court action The headline figure for those caught speeding hides large variations between constabularies. The analysis – based on Home Office data and carried out by Dr Adam Snow of Liverpool John Moores University and Doreen Lam of the RAC Foundation – showed that West Yorkshire topped the list with 181,867 people caught speeding in 2018-19. Second was Avon and Somerset (159,210) followed by the Metropolitan Police, including City of London (157,494). At the other end of the scale Wiltshire Constabulary caught only 807 people speeding, Cleveland caught 11,937 and Derbyshire 12,256. Wiltshire turned off its speed cameras in 2010. A full table is available at the end of this press release. Across the 43 constabularies of England and Wales, the vast majority (97%) of offences were detected by speed cameras. The variations across police forces will in part be down to geographical area, road type and traffic volume. They will also be created by local policing priorities. In Wiltshire, for example, all speed cameras were turned off in 2010. Steve Gooding of the RAC Foundation said: “The simple rule for drivers who don’t want to risk ending up with a speeding ticket is not to break the limit in the first place. “Where limits are properly signposted and clearly feel right for the road in question then motorists have no excuse for going faster, but that means highway authorities also have a responsibility to make sure the limits they set are appropriate and to avoid instances where the limit repeatedly ‘bounces’ up and down along a single stretch.” In 2018, “exceeding the speed limit” was recorded as a contributory factor in 13% of fatal crashes in Great Britain where at least one factor was identified. “Travelling too fast for the conditions” was a contributory factor in 9% of fatal crashes. More than one contributory factor might be recorded per incident. Since the inception of the National Speed Awareness Course in 2010 about nine million people have attended one. ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org Detailed figures for all constabularies in England and Wales can be viewed here: https://www.racfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Speeding_offences_detected_2018-19_Snow_Lam.pdf The table below gives summary information for individual forces. Total number of speeding offences detected by police forces in England and Wales in 2018-19 and how they were detected. Police Force Area Total number of speeding offences detected 2017-18 Total number of speeding offences detected 2018-19 % year-on-year change 2018-19 Proportion of speeding offences detected by camera 2018-2019 Total number of all motoring offences 2018-19 Proportion of speeding offences relative to all motoring offences 2018-19 Avon and Somerset 199,336 159,210 -20% 100% 173,420 92% Bedfordshire 74,297 76,573 3% 100% 80,685 95% Cambridgeshire 45,763 34,672 -24% 98% 40,795 85% Cheshire 58,408 52,770 -10% 96% 61,626 86% City of London/Metropolitan Police[1] 139,318 157,494 13% 91% 274,744 57% Cleveland 11,308 11,937 6% 97% 13,592 88% Cumbria 45,702 40,104 -12% 99% 42,331 95% Derbyshire 10,480 12,256 17% 98% 14,736 83% Devon and Cornwall 42,888 47,272 10% 98% 52,152 91% Dorset 23,027 22,716 -1% 94% 26,391 86% Durham 8,802 19,395 120% 95% 20,764 93% Essex 95,967 91,849 -4% 94% 124,923 74% Gloucestershire 21,727 24,121 11% 99% 25,729 94% Greater Manchester 101,421 106,839 5% 99% 122,411 87% Hampshire 79,126 73,036 -8% 96% 81,149 90% Hertfordshire 51,158 52,794 3% 98% 61,763 85% Humberside 57,930 53,679 -7% 96% 63,004 85% Kent 18,878 20,366 8% 95% 30,024 68% Lancashire 61,242 74,286 21% 99% 85,293 87% Leicestershire 37,340 41,909 12% 99% 50,826 82% Lincolnshire 47,020 45,712 -3% 98% 48,611 94%   Police Force Area Total number of speeding offences detected 2017-18 Total number of speeding offences detected 2018-19 % year-on-year change 2018-19 Proportion of speeding offences detected by camera 2018-2019 Total number of all motoring offences 2018-19 Proportion of speeding offences relative to all motoring offences 2018-19 Merseyside 60,681 53,112 -12% 86% 75,962 70% Norfolk and Suffolk[2] 92,750 98,729 6% 96% 114,957 86% North Wales 20,462 19,493 -5% 90% 24,610 79% North Yorkshire 29,922 41,934 40% 99% 47,421 88% Northamptonshire 47,860 49,448 3% 100% 56,800 87% Northumbria 66,327 67,857 2% 99% 75,961 89% Nottinghamshire 27,155 24,566 -10% 99% 30,845 80% Wales (except North Wales)[3] 43,425 35,005 -19% 96% 49,934 70% South Yorkshire 47,811 55,461 16% 99% 63,162 88% Staffordshire 41,392 48,583 17% 98% 54,771 89% Surrey 74,163 89,079 20% 100% 98,427 91% Sussex 56,828 54,139 -5% 98% 62,202 87% Thames Valley 131,400 145,447 11% 98% 158,854 92% Warwickshire 43,409 52,774 22% 99% 58,612 90% West Mercia 66,858 92,335 38% 99% 98,161 94% West Midlands 34,966 57,154 63% 93% 67,457 85% West Yorkshire 174,796 181,867 4% 99% 201,548 90% Wiltshire 1,191 807 -32% 0% 3,008 27% Total England and Wales 2,292,534 2,386,780 4% 97% 2,837,661 84%   [1] The Home Office releases data from the 43 police force areas. As in the previous version of this report the analysis in this document amalgamates the figures for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police. The City of London police force is primarily a specialist organisation dealing with financial crime and policing the square mile. [2] Suffolk and Norfolk central ticket offices merged in July 2015. All FPNs are now issued by Norfolk therefore, all notices for Suffolk and Norfolk are reported under Norfolk. [3] The number of speeding offences detected by camera in the Dyfed-Powys and Gwent police force areas are not separated out in the PentiP database and instead are all reported under the South Wales Police force. We have combined Dyfed-Powys and Gwent and South Wales constabularies under the name Wales (except North Wales).

The petition calling for the revocation of Article 50 and the ending of the Brexit process - six million signatures and counting - is not the first time there has been mass lobbying of this kind aimed at trying to influence ministerial policy. In 2007, 1.7 million people signed a petition on the Downing Street website urging the then-Labour government not to introduce road pricing. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding remembers it well. The article below first appeared on the Transport Times blog.   "For reasons I needn't go into there is much attention being paid, as I write, to a certain parliamentary petition which has attracted several million signatures. "I have some experience of petitions, because just over ten years ago, as the Roads Director in the Department for Transport, I had the task of grappling with what was then the largest petition most of us could remember and had as its target, yes, road pricing. "Transport Times readers will all know that the moves to replace our fossil-fuelled motoring world with a cleaner, greener solution come with an inexorable impact on fuel duty income to the Treasury. That's something in the region of £26 billion at risk. Something is going to have to be done. "However, anyone thinking about advocating road pricing now – and I have noticed some stirring in the undergrowth – would be well advised to have a few things in their minds as learning points from that petition, which was lodged on the Number 10 website. "When we use terms such a 'road pricing' loosely we run the risk of conflating a number of things, and that can lead to a confused public debate that can quickly run away on a tide of suspicion and misconceptions. Let me explain by looking at the issue through three lenses. "Lens number one – the accountant's view. "Your accountant is the person who faces you with the question of whether you are solvent or not. Has your income exceeded your expenditure? Hence, the accountant's version of 'road pricing' is a way of raising money for the Exchequer which might in turn be used to fund any number of public services – health, education and so on. "One way of making the books balance would be to take the fact that as of today the more driving you do, the more fuel you burn, and the more fuel duty you pay, and simply drop the fuel element out of the equation and instead invite us all to pay by reference to the amount of driving that we do. This is the pay-as-you-go model (probably more accurately thought of as a pay-for-how-far-you-went). "I think that this will turn out to be quite an attractive option for the Treasury. It is the core idea in the winning Wolfson Prize entry. "Lens number two – the economist's view. "Economists yearn to use a pricing mechanism as a way of rationing road space and managing traffic. The net income to the Treasury, for the Economist, is incidental to the main objective, which is to arrive at a more efficient and rational consumption by motorists of a capacity-limited product – the road network. Think of the London congestion charge. The objective is to make the roads run better, the fact that it raises money is a bonus for cash-strapped Transport for London. "Rather than being concerned purely with the number of miles that you drive, this approach requires somebody, somewhere to know where you drove and when you drove there (which is why I think of it as tadpole pricing: TDP – Time-Distance-Place). And that ups the complexity and brings in a whole raft of issues, in particular privacy. "Lens number three – the consumer's view. "We consumers of road capacity observe from time to time that we are paying more in motoring-related taxes than gets spent on roads. Wouldn't it make more sense for the roads to be provided on a similar basis to other utilities, like gas or water, where the amount we pay relates to the cost of provision, established independently by a regulator? Our potholed roads clearly need more investment, so rather than siphoning off what we pay to support other public services lets have a genuine 'price' that would go straight into the operation, maintenance and enhancement of the network. "It might be possible to design a really clever system that ticks all three boxes. Maybe. But explaining it becomes almost as complicated as doing it, because I guarantee that whoever is promoting it will be asked, again and again "is this about raising money or is it about tackling congestion?" "That was the first lesson. "Lesson two, when faced with the option of using a price mechanism to achieve a more efficient – more rational – use of road space, hundreds of thousands of people said that they'd rather not, thanks very much. "They said some other things too – that they didn't want the Big Brother state tracking all their trips, and they certainly didn't want to have automatic enforcement of every speed limit on every road at every time of day. "We all need to muse on this. "Because while we can all agree that congestion is a bad thing, and we'd all rather not experience it, it is very far from clear that we all think that it is so bad that the road pricing – TDP - cure is better than the traffic-queue disease. "Look, instead, at the approach that London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan is taking to explain his Ultra-Low Emission Zone – a poster campaign that bangs home the message that it is your children's health at stake. Are we going to argue with that? "No. "By comparison being stuck in traffic feels more like an irritant than a crisis. And we aren't generally inclined to vote for radical changes to address irritants. Particularly if we suspect that the medicine will be unpalatable and the irritant might well persist. "Fine-tuning a TDP road pricing regime is a whole lot easier in an economic textbook than it turns out to be in the complex, messy real world of thirty-eight million drivers taking decisions about the trips they'll make in thirty-two million cars. "Perhaps if the TDP 'medicine' came with the 'sugar' of a promise to hypothecate more money for road spending it would be easier to swallow. 'Easier', maybe, but 'easy', no. "Despite the Government's commitment to allocate vehicle excise duty ("road tax") to road investment the fact is that we do not pay a 'price' for consuming the product that is our national road network, and switching to such an approach would be a major upheaval. Lesson three, do not underestimate the magnitude of the approach you are advocating, and muse on the parallels with other massive transformation projects such as universal credit. "Clever folk beavering away in the Treasury will be turning their minds to the inevitable collapse of fuel duty income over the next decade. "If we transport professionals are to help them explore and think through the practical options that will fly with the motoring public we need to be very clear in our minds and in our use of terminology what exactly we are describing. We have to get the pain:gain, cost:benefit judgement right. And we've got to square up to the practicalities of real-world implementation." ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is leading a coalition of city leaders from across the UK in a call for £1.5 billion of central government funding to take the dirtiest vehicles off urban streets. The UK100 group - a network of local government leaders looking for a shift to 100% clean energy by 2050 -  want the money to help fund a scrappage scheme with a £2,000 credit being provided to drivers who trade in their polluting cars in exchange for one which is ultra-low emission. Alternatively the money could be used for travel credits to be used for public transport, car clubs and bikes. Up to £3,500 would be available to those people looking to replace their aged cans and minibuses. Half of the fund should be ring-fenced for private individuals, particularly those on low incomes. Alongside the call for national action Sadiq Khan also announced plans to extend his own scrappage scheme. "Details of the new proposed £25 million car scrappage fund – announced today - will be launched later this year. It comes on top of the Mayor’s existing plans for a £23 million fund to help micro-businesses scrap vans that do not comply with the new Ultra Low Emission Zone standards, but which are driven into the ULEZ central London zone regularly." The RAC Foundation has previously done its own analysis of what impact a travel credit scheme in London might have. From April 8 2019 a new Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be introduced in London superseding the T-Charge zone already in place. From 25 October 2021, the area the ULEZ covers will be extended to that bounded by the North and South Circular roads. All these charges are in addition to the existing London Congestion Charge. Steve Gooding responded to the UK100 announcement in The Thunderer column in The Times: “Back in the 1990s the RAC Foundation, a policy and research organisation, was born of a growing concern about the need to get a grip on the negative impacts of motoring — congestion, road safety and emissions. Something had to change if we were to continue to enjoy the mobility benefits the car has brought, not least access to employment. That’s true across the country and it’s true even in Greater London, despite the capital’s extensive public transport networks. “Successive London mayors have blazed a trail in promoting initiatives such as congestion charges, the direct vision standard (which assesses how much of fellow road users a lorry driver can safely see), and now, with Sadiq Khan, the priority given to tackling air quality. “The health risks we run from poor air quality have become ever clearer in recent years. Surely none of us would oppose Mr Khan’s desire to make rapid progress: no one wants their family exposed to emissions that could cause or worsen lifelong health problems. The trouble arises when the pace of change made in pursuit of environmental and health improvement comes with a real financial cost to households, and risks hitting hardest those who are least able to afford it. “That’s why our foundation acknowledged the sense in the mayor’s previously announced initiative to help very small businesses cope with his accelerated ultra-low emission zone charges by offering compensation for scrapping older, more polluting vehicles. “Extending the scheme to cars, as he now proposes, is also a good idea, but the mayor’s fund looks paltry. The full details of the scheme have yet to be explained, but a study we conducted suggested there are about 3.9 million cars and vans registered in Greater London, of which some 40 per cent are not compliant with the ultra-low emission zone standards. Set against this, a scrappage fund of £25 million is set to fall short. “And, of course, it’s not just London that’s facing an air quality challenge. Yesterday saw mayors and city leaders across the country calling for a £1.5 billion programme, a call they may have made in vain given that the government recently scaled back its subsidy scheme for plug-in cars, not to mention the broader economic uncertainties we face. “But if the estimates for healthcare savings that could accrue from tackling air quality are to be believed, shouldn’t it fall to national government, as ultimate funder of the NHS, to dig far deeper into its coffers to support schemes such as Mr Khan’s that are designed to protect both our mobility and our health?” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

The EU Commission is calling for the mandatory installation of a range of safety features on new cars sold in Europe. As part of the third element of the Commission's 'Europe on the Move' strategy it is proposed that systems such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane assist and intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) are fitted as standard. The plans are part of attempts to cut the number of people hurt on roads in the EU: in 2017, 25,300 people died and 135,000 were seriously injured. The Commission is also calling for member states to identify dangerous road sections and "to better target investment". The ultimate goal is to move close to zero fatalities and serious injuries on the roads by 2050; the so-called Vision Zero. In the UK, AEB is currently fitted as standard on around 30% of all new cars sold and is available as an optional extra on another 30%, though only a small fraction of consumers actually opt for it. ISA would see the vehicle automatically sticking to the speed limit. Also included on the list of technologies the Commission wants to see more commonly fitted are: Alcohol interlock installation facilitation (cars, vans, trucks, buses) Drowsiness and attention detection (cars, vans, trucks, buses) Distraction recognition / prevention (cars, vans, trucks, buses) Event (accident) data recorder (cars and vans) Emergency stop signal (cars, vans, trucks, buses) Full-width frontal occupant protection crash test - improved seatbelts (cars and vans) Head impact zone enlargement for pedestrians and cyclists - safety glass in case of crash (cars and vans) Lane keeping assist (cars, vans) Pole side impact occupant protection (cars, vans) Reversing camera or detection system (cars, vans, trucks, buses) Tyre pressure monitoring system (vans, trucks, buses) Vulnerable road user detection and warning on front and side of vehicle (trucks and buses) Vulnerable road user improved direct vision from driver’s position (trucks and buses) Commenting on the ISA proposals the director of the RAC Foundation Steve Gooding said: "For all its high-tech sophistication ISA will only be good as the speed limit data it relies on. From more 20mph zones in cities to constantly varying limits on smart motorways, speed setting is increasingly localised and diverse.   "The danger is that incomplete information will see an ISA-controlled car sticking firmly, say, to 60mph when it shouldn't be going any faster than 50." ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. All the Foundation’s work is available on its website: www.racfoundation.org

The number diesel cars licensed in Great Britain stood at 12.4 million at the end of 2017. The figures – released today by the Department for Transport – show that this was a 3.3% increase on the 12 million at the end of 2016, and an almost doubling of the 6.6 million diesel cars on the road a decade ago back in 2007. In 1997 the number of diesel cars in Great Britain was just 2.4 million. The data also shows that of the 31.2 million cars (also a record number) of all propulsion types licensed in Great Britain at the end of 2017: • 18.3 million were petrol powered • 414,000 were hybrid electric • 45,000 were pure electric In addition, the number of vans - almost all of which will be powered by diesel - is also at a new high with 3.9 million in Britain. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These latest figures show just how entrenched diesel cars are in our society. It also illustrates that even if the dramatic drop in sales of new diesel cars continues it will take several years before the size of the overall diesel fleet is significantly dented. “It’s not just diesel cars that are at record numbers. The van fleet has just hit a new high of 3.9 million and almost all of these will be powered by diesel. The new figures also show that the average age of cars in Britain now stands at 8.1 years. This is up from 8 years in 2016 and 6.8 years a decade ago. Steve Gooding added: “The increasing age of cars partly reflects the build quality and reliability of modern cars. But while in our generally throw-away society keeping things for as long as possible can be seen as positive, it also means that some of the older, most polluting cars might be with is for longer than we might now like.” Not only is the number of diesel vehicles on the road at a record, so too is the amount of diesel fuel being sold. In 2017, 30.4 billion litres of diesel was used in the UK, up from 30.1 billion litres in 2016. At the same time the amount of petrol being sold dropped slightly from 17.1 billion litres in 2016 to 16.8 billion litres in 2017. Total fuel consumption remained constant at 47.2 billion litres. [iframe class="highcharts-iframe" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 480px;" src="//cloud.highcharts.com/embed/uzosox"] ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available on its website: www.racfoundation.org

Three out of 10 hospitals charge staff for car parking, new figures show. Doctors and nurses are expected to pay at 348 out of the 1,175 hospitals with parking facilities, according to NHS data studied by the RAC Foundation. According to the NHS Estates Return Information Collection the highest average charge for staff is £2 per hour at both the Edgware Community Hospital, north-west London and Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Based on the official figures this suggests that cost of parking for a 40-hour working week would be £80. (NOTE: subsequent to the publication of this press release the accuracy of the official data as it related to the Edgware Community Hospital was questioned by NHS Property Services which manages the car park at the site. A spokesperson said: “Staff can park for free in the staff car park at Edgware Community Hospital, which has approximately 200 spaces. The separate pay and display car park for visitors is £2 for the first hour on a scale up to £6 for 8 hours.”) The highest average charge for patients is £3.20 per hour at St Thomas’ Hospital, central London. The data also shows that 132 hospitals now charge for disabled parking. Department of Health guidance is for NHS organisations to ensure staff can reach sites “as safely, conveniently and economically as possible”. An investigation by the Press Association previously revealed that NHS hospitals made a record £175 million in 2016/17 from charging patients, visitors and staff for parking, up 6% on the year before. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “Few parking issues are as incendiary as charging people to leave vehicles at hospitals, be they patients, visitors or staff. “Many hospitals are on built-up locations, on constrained sites, so some sort of control is inevitable, but this needs to be proportionate and stress free. “Government guidance encourages hospitals to use pay-on-exit systems. This would at least mean the anxiety associated with a hospital visit is not compounded by paying up front and having to predict to the second how long a visit will last.” Seventy-five members of staff at a hospital in Cardiff were left owing thousands of pounds in parking tickets last year. Some complained a lack of spaces left them forced to park in unauthorised areas. Gerry O’Dwyer, senior employment relations adviser at the Royal College of Nursing, told the Press Association: “Hefty parking charges are disadvantaging nursing staff who work around the clock to keep our NHS afloat. “Many work through the night to care for patients and using public transport to get home isn’t an option. “Hospital car parks require running and maintenance costs but after years of pay restraint nursing staff should not be overcharged for doing their jobs. “The Government isn’t giving the NHS the funding it needs but struggling hospitals should not try to make money off their staff. Their goodwill won’t last forever. We need reasonable car parking provision with reasonable and affordable charges.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available on its website: www.racfoundation.org

A fresh approach to crash investigation is needed to help bring down death and injury on Britain's roads. Currently the police analyse what has happened after an accident with the aim of making a case against anyone deemed legally responsible. However, in a new research paper the RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding argues that a tandem, no-blame system of investigation needs to be employed to learn lessons which could help reduce casualty numbers in the future. With the number of fatalities hovering around the 1,750 mark since 2010 he calls for an investigatory approach similar to that already seen in the marine, aviation and rail sectors. As a starting point Steve Gooding suggests three ways that pilot schemes could be established. He says: "The creation of a dedicated analytical unit within the Department for Transport (DfT) should be relatively quick and easy to set up, and whilst not being independent nor having the resource to conduct individual investigations could still compile, collate and analyse the huge amount of information already collected. "If DfT provided some modest seedcorn funding it would be possible to envisage a local or regional pilot involving one or more highway authorities and their associated police constabularies acting together on a voluntary basis. Not a model that would reveal the bigger, national picture, but still able to work through how to manage the tangle of civil and criminal liabilities. "And then there's the option of Highways England establishing a unit, directly funded but operating at arm's length, to focus on the strategic road network. Highways England's network is not the riskiest in road safety terms, but when things do go wrong both the safety and the economic impacts can be severe – high-speed crashes involving the heaviest vehicles often with damage to carriageways and hours of frustrating tailbacks. "There comes a time in any long-running debate when an idea either runs out of steam or finally begins to gain traction. We believe that moment is near on the argument for developing a better way to investigate the causes of road crashes, and so we add the Foundation's voice to those of the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety and other safety organisations, and to Sir Peter Bottomley's, for this fresh 'do-something' option – an idea whose time has surely come."

The number of people killed on Britain's roads reached a five-year high last year, new figures show. Some 1,792 deaths were recorded in road traffic accidents in 2016, up 4% on the previous year, the most since 2011. Pedestrian deaths saw the largest year-on-year rise at 10%, followed by car occupants (8%). The Department for Transport (DfT), which produced the data in its annual Reported Road Casualties GB report, described the increase in fatalities as "not statistically significant", adding that it is likely due to "natural variation". Traffic levels increased 2.2% between 2015 and 2016. Some 24,101 people were seriously injured on Britain's roads in 2016. This represents a 9% rise on the previous year, but the DfT warned that comparisons should be "interpreted with caution" due to changes in the way police forces are classifying the severity of injuries. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "These numbers tell a familiar story. Since 2011 there has been next to no progress made in cutting the number of crash deaths. "The silver lining is that a new accident reporting system means we are gathering better data than ever on the harm being done on the roads. "It is time for the establishment of a road accident investigation branch - similar to the teams we see in the rail and aviation industries - so lessons can be learned and best practice shared across the country to help bring down these stubbornly high figures. “Humans will always be the weak link, so we must continue reengineering our most dangerous roads to stop the worst accidents happening or mitigate their effects when they do. “Employers should be reminded of their duty of care to employees who drive. Around a third of people who are hurt on the roads are driving for work. Professional drivers must not be put under so much pressure to meet deadlines and targets that they cut safety corners.”   The data also shows that the number of people killed in accidents where the use of a mobuile phone was a contributory factor rose from 22 to 35 (59% rise) and those seriously injured jumped from 99 to 137 (38% rise). Steve Gooding added: “Even this big rise is likely to be an underreporting of the true scale of the problem which can be difficult for police to detect. It seems too many drivers still can’t resist picking up the mobile whilst at the wheel. Forget all the technological solutions, the best ‘drive safe’ mode is reached via one click of the power off button.” ENDS  Contacts: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected] | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705. All the Foundation’s work is available on its website: www.racfoundation.org

The government's latest plans to improve air quality threaten to create a mosaic of confusion for drivers as different rules, regulations and restrictions operate in different areas. In its consultation document the Government has outlined a range of measures it hopes will reduce air pollution and its impacts with many of the actions being taken at local level: a. Exploring innovative retrofitting technologies and new fuels; b. Buying ULEVs and encouraging local transport operators to do the same; c. Encouraging private uptake of ULEVs via ensuring adequate chargepoints; d. Encouraging use of public transport, cycling, walking, park and ride schemes, and car sharing; e. Improving road layouts and junctions to optimise traffic flow, for example by considering removal of road humps; f. Working with local businesses and neighbouring authorities to ensure a consistent approach; and g. Charging certain types of vehicles to enter or move within the zone. The document also suggest that ministers will expect the car industry to do more to solve the problems caused by the vehicles they have made: "Poor air quality persists in certain areas of the country as a direct result of the failure of the European regulatory system to deliver expected improvements in vehicle emissions. During the consultation period the Government will engage with vehicle manufacturers on what role they might play in helping to improve air quality. This could include participation in specific schemes, such as those outlined above. We will also continue to press car manufacturers to develop options for recalling existing vehicles to improve their real world emissions performance." In a supporting technical document ministers have offered up proposals for a possible scrappage scheme which would take 9,000 of the oldest diesel cars and 6,000 of the oldest petrol cars off the road, but acknowledges the negligible air quality benefits: "The impact of scrapping 15,000 older petrol and diesel vehicles and replacing them with BEVs was estimated to deliver a 0.008μg/m3 reduction in average NO2 concentrations in 2020 (the first year in which air quality impacts from the scheme have been assumed). This would result in around 0.05% of the total stock of conventionally fuelled vehicles (ICEs) in 2019 being scrapped." Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These proposals put responsibility firmly at the doors of town and city halls to come up with bespoke local action plans, and in more locations than were previously thought. The plans suggest that government is looking to the auto manufacturers to recall and retune cars to improve their emissions performance. “The proposals rightly highlight the importance of cleaning up the largest, heaviest vehicles such as trucks and buses, and vehicles doing the highest mileages in the most polluted areas, such as cabs and vans. “The risk for the nearly 12 million owners of diesel cars is a mosaic of confusion with different rules applying in different places. Anyone holding out for a scrappage scheme looks set for a long wait. Meantime we need a redoubling of effort to increase the take up of ultra-green cars, sales of which are currently underwhelming.” Speaking specifically about diesel scrappage, Steve Gooding added: Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The government’s own calculations show just how difficult it is to devise a workable and cost effective scheme. Taking 15,000 old vehicles off the road barely scratches the surface of the air quality problem and would leave 99.9% of diesel owners still wondering what the future holds in terms of restrictions on the use of their vehicles and declines in their value.” ENDS  Contacts: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected] | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705. All the Foundation’s work is available on its website: www.racfoundation.org

Diesel has reached its most expensive price in more than two years. On Friday UK motorists were paying an average of 122.1 pence per litre for diesel, which is the highest since December 2014, RAC Foundation figures show.  Petrol pump prices were 119.7 pence per litre on the same day. Wholesale prices have levelled off in recent weeks, leading to hopes that there will soon be some respite for drivers. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: "Fuel prices have been rising steadily on the back of a doubling of the cost of crude oil over the past year, caused in large part by the collapse in value of sterling against the dollar. "For drivers this means the cost of filling up with petrol has risen around £10 a tank in just 12 months and £12 a tank for diesel. "Things could have been worse still. The relatively mild winter across much of Europe has depressed demand for heating oil which is closely related to diesel. That's why the wholesale price of diesel is currently about the same as petrol. "The biggest influence on pump prices remains the Chancellor. Despite the continued fuel duty freeze, he still takes two-thirds of the pump price in tax." ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN)  Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org   

Learner drivers could soon be taking to motorways under proposals outlined by the government. Ministers are consulting on plans to allow those learning to drive to have lessons on motorways with their instructor. The lessons would be voluntary. At the moment, you can only have driving lessons on motorways after you’ve passed your driving test. Some newly-qualified drivers take lessons through the voluntary Pass Plus scheme. Responding to the proposals, Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "The casualty statistics tell us that motorways are our safest roads, but they can feel anything but safe to a newly qualified driver heading down the slip road for the first time to join a fast moving, often heavy, flow of traffic. "Many are so intimidated by the motorway environment that they choose instead to use statistically more dangerous roads, so we welcome this move which will help new drivers get the training they need to use motorways safely." The Times has reported that the government is also considering introducing a minimum learning period for novices: "Learner drivers could be made to spend up to 120 hours behind the wheel before sitting their test under government plans to cut accidents. "Ministers are considering a mandatory minimum learning period to prevent young motorists from taking to the road alone with little practice. At present they can sit the driving test as soon as they turn 17, and some pass with 20 hours’ experience or less." Previous research by the RAC Foundation has shown that one in five young drivers will have an accident within six months of passing their test. Steve Gooding said: "While it is widely recognised that novice drivers need to practice skills and gain experience before taking the practical test, the statistics suggest that many are in fact taking the test too soon for their own good. "The challenge with prescribing a minimum number of driving hours is not just in the practicality of logging accompanied motoring, but with calibrating what that minimum should be.  "The fact is that some people will always need more than just the bare minimum to amass the range of experience they need to become safe drivers." ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

Drivers made at least 31,483 claims against councils for vehicle damage caused by poor road conditions in the last financial year. This equates to a claim being submitted every seventeen minutes in 2015/16. However, councils only paid out in just over a quarter (26.9%) of cases. The analysis by the RAC Foundation is based on data collected from 204 out the 207 local authorities in Great Britain. The average value of a claim was £432, though the average value of a successful claim was lower at £306. The council with the highest number of claims made against it was Hampshire (1,952), followed by Surrey (1,412) and Hertfordshire (1,369).   ENGLAND (and GB)   2015/16 Local Authority Rank based on 2015/16 number of claims Number of claims Value of Successful Claims Number of Successful Claims Percentage of completed claims that were successful Hampshire 1 1,952 £103,480 306 32% Surrey 2 1,412 £143,060 262 27% Hertfordshire 3 1,369 £88,459 184 14% Kent 4 1,120 £30,948 112 10% Lancashire 5 930 £38,629 96 17%   The Scottish council with the highest number of claims was Glasgow with 794 claims.   SCOTLAND   2015/16 Local Authority Rank based on 2015/16 number of claims Number of claims Value of Successful Claims Number of Successful Claims Percentage of completed claims that were successful Glasgow City 1 794 £13,929 57 9% Edinburgh 2 512 £29,329 173 54% Perth and Kinross 3 339 £11,562 41 37% Renfrewshire 4 287 £21,351 116 55% Dumfries & Galloway 5 275 £6,312 28 21%   The Welsh council with the highest number of claims was Cardiff with 237 claims.   WALES   2015/16 Local Authority Rank based on 2015/16 number of claims Number of claims Value of Successful Claims Number of Successful Claims Percentage of completed claims that were successful Cardiff 1 237 £11,952 51 50% The Vale of Glamorgan 2 173 £7,327 39 56% Swansea 3 97 £584 6 7% Powys 4 77 £7,878 20 54% Neath Port Talbot 5= 76 £3067 17 77% Bridgend 5= 76 £8,234 40 66%   The only council in Great Britain to receive no claims for vehicle damage caused by potholes in 2015/16 was the Isles of Scilly. Orkney Council and the City of London received just one claim each. The total number of claims received in 2015/16 by councils across Great Britain (31,483) is about a 9% increase on the previous year (28,971 claims in 2014/15) but less than the 48,945 claims made in 2013/14. Three-year summary table:     Claims received by council highways authorities Number of successful claims (Percentage of all claims that were successful) Value of successful claims   2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 England 42,943 25,348 25,471 9,872 (23%) 6,143 (26%) 4,832 (27%) £2,922,367 £1,876,056 £1,559,232 Scotland 4,511 2,746 4,733 1,126 (25%) 520 (21%) 749 (27%) £228,161 £98,141 £162,674 Wales 1,491 877 1,279 266 (18%) 134 (17%) 249 (33%) £72,960 £30,585 £62,332 GB 48,945 28,971 31,483 11,264 (26%) 6,797 (25%) 5,830 (27%) £3,223,488 £2,004,782 £1,784,238   (Note, an exact comparison cannot be made because of slight annual differences in the number of councils who responded to FOI requests and whose data was subsequently used: 201 councils in 2013/14, 200 councils in 2014/15, 204 councils in 2015/16.)  The government’s own assessment is that there is a road maintenance backlog of up to £8.6 billion. The latest annual ALARM survey of local authority highways departments puts it at £11.8 billion.  Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These figures are symptomatic of the inadequate funding available for local road maintenance. “Year in, year out, the backlog of work on local roads is estimated to run to several billion pounds. “A pitted road surface isn’t just a problem for motorists – for those on two wheels it can be life threatening. “Just last week the Chancellor acknowledged that there had been decades of underfunding in the nation’s infrastructure and that he was keen to support targeted, value-for-money public investment. Providing the funds to fix our roads would be a great place to start and would show rapid results.” Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Steve Gooding – Director – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07912 177450 | 020 7747 3445 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org   This is the full list of pothole compensation claims for GB councils in alphabetic order: www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/GB_FOI_pothole_2015_16.pdf This is the full list of pothole compensation claims for English councils ranked by number of claims: www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/England_FOI_pothole_2015_16.pdf This is the full list of pothole compensation claims for Scottish councils ranked by number of claims: www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/Scotland_FOI_pothole_2015_16.pdf This is the full list of pothole compensation claims for Welsh councils ranked by number of claims: www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/Wales_FOI_pothole_2015_16.pdf HM Treasury 2015 estimate of road maintenance backlog: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf 2016 ALARM survey: http://www.asphaltindustryalliance.com/images/library/files/ALARM%202016/ALARM_survey_2016_full_report.pdf    

The use of average speed cameras has been found, on average, to cut the number of crashes resulting in death or serious injury by more than a third.  Research for the RAC Foundation by Road Safety Analysis found that on average - having allowed for natural variation and overall trends - the number of fatal and serious collisions decreases by 36% after average speed cameras are introduced. The average reduction in personal injury collisions of all severities was found to be 16%.* By the end of 2015 there were at least 50 stretches of road in Great Britain permanently covered by average speed cameras keeping a total length of 255 miles (410 km) under observation. The 50 stretches range in length from under half a mile in Nottingham to 99 miles (159 km) on the A9 between Dunblane and Inverness in Scotland. Many of these stretches of road will be monitored by several sets of cameras. The first stretch of road to become permanently managed by average speed cameras was on the A6514 Ring Road in Nottingham back in 2000. At least 12 systems were installed last year alone. A full list of those stretches of road in Great Britain with average speed cameras covered by this study follows at the end of this press release. One reason for the increase in usage has been the reduction in the installation costs of permanent average speed cameras. The cost of permanent average speed cameras is now typically around £100,000 per mile, compared with around £1.5m per mile in the early 2000s. Some of the older spot speed cameras – commonly known as Gatso cameras – have been around for 25 years and still use 35mm film. As they come to the end of their operating lives they are starting to be replaced, in some cases with average speed camera systems. In August this year, for example, West Midlands Police turned on average speed camera systems on eight stretches of roads in Birmingham and Solihull. This was three years after the old-style, wet-film, Gatso cameras were turned off. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “All the indications are that compliance with average speed cameras is high; now this research reveals the sizeable impact they can have in reducing death and serious injuries. “As the cost of technology continues to fall, more and more authorities are considering whether to install average speed cameras and so it will be important to ensure that casualty and compliance data is openly available so we can continue to assess and understand the road safety benefits they deliver.” Richard Owen, operations director at Road Safety Analysis, said: “Measuring the influence of speed cameras in isolation from other road safety improvements over time has previously never been undertaken on this scale. “The statistical results clearly show good collision reductions on the stretches of road where average speed cameras are used; often covering much longer distances than other enforcement systems. “The findings and methodology used should be of significant interest to those considering the use of this technology, as well as those wishing to evaluate their own road safety schemes.” Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Steve Gooding – Director – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07912 177450 | 020 7747 3445 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org The full report is available to download under embargo: www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/Average_speed_camera_effectiveness_Owen_Ursachi_Allsop_September_2016.pdf *Talking specifically about the collision reduction assessment, the report says: “The standout result from the analysis shows, after accounting for SSPs [site-selection periods] and trend, a 36.4% (95% confidence interval: 25-46%) reduction in the mean rate of fatal and serious collisions in the post-installation period. The change in personal injury collisions of all severities was less pronounced, with a 16% (95% confidence interval: 9-22%) reduction. Both results were classified as highly statistically significant according to the analysis, meaning that they almost certainly did not arise by chance or through random variation.” Average speed cameras are also often used on a temporary basis to manage traffic through roadworks but these have not been included in this study. Nor was the single stretch of road managed by average speed cameras in Northern Ireland. The table below gives the full list of average speed camera sites in Great Britain as obtained for the RAC Foundation by Road Safety Analysis as of the middle of 2015. The quoted site lengths reflect the extent of the enforcement infrastructure, not the total length of the road itself. There were cameras installed on the A46 at Cotgrave in January 2006 but these were later removed. There might be other sites where average speed cameras are permanently installed but have not been revealed to the researchers. Although not part of this study there is a 6.25-mile stretch of the A2 between Bangor and Holywood in Northern Ireland that is monitored by average speed cameras.   SiteID Site Name Site Length Installation Date     (miles) (km) NO1 A6514 Ring Road,  Nottingham 3.96 6.37 Aug-00 NO2 A610 Bobbers Mill, Nottingham 1.12 1.80 Sep-00 SY2 A616 Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire HA 6.79 10.93 Dec-02 LO4 Tower Bridge, City of London 0.42 0.68 Sep-03 NO3 A46 Fosse Road,  Nottinghamshire HA 0.9 1.45 Dec-04 NO4 A631 Gringley on the Hill, Nottinghamshire 1.98 3.19 Jan-05 NO5 A631 Scaftworth,  Nottinghamshire 1.48 2.38 Mar-05 SC1 A77 Ayr to Stranraer, Transport Scotland  17.81 28.66 Jul-05 NO7 A52 Bingham,  Nottinghamshire HA 2.39 3.85 Jan-06 NO8 A52 Radcliffe Road,  Nottinghamshire 2.01 3.23 Jan-06 NO9 A52 Saxondale,  Nottinghamshire 0.65 1.05 Jan-06 CA1 A14 Huntingdon to Girton, Cambridgeshire HA 7.13 11.47 Mar-07 ME1 A228 Isle of Grain, Kent 4.54 7.31 Nov-07 NO10 B6004 Oxclose Lane,  Nottinghamshire 0.62 1.00 Apr-08 ES1 A127 Arterial Road, Essex 5.31 8.55 Jan-09 ES2 A130 Canvey Way, Essex 2.47 3.98 Apr-09 LO3 Rotherhithe Tunnel, London 1.24 2.00 Jun-09 LO1 Blackwall Tunnel, London 1.54 2.48 Jul-09 NO11 A611 Annesley, Nottinghamshire 0.66 1.06 Nov-09 NO12 A631 Beckingham Bypass, Nottinghamshire 0.64 1.03 Nov-09 LI2 A52 Ropsley, Lincolnshire 5.42 8.72 Dec-09 CU1 A66 Bass Lake, Cumbria 1.74 2.80 Jan-10 CH1 A537 Cat and Fiddle, Cheshire 9.66 15.55 Apr-10 ST1 A38 Shenstone to Bassetts Pole, Staffordshire 3.34 5.38 Jun-10 CA2 B1096 Ramsey Forty Foot, Cambridgeshire 3.9 6.28 Jul-10 NO13 A60 London Road, Nottingham 0.24 0.39 Sep-10 NO14 A60 Mansfield Road, Nottingham 0.66 1.06 Sep-10 CA3 A14 Girton to Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire  HA 4.27 6.87 Mar-11 NO15 A614 Old Rufford Road, Nottinghamshire 11.86 19.09 Jan-12 ES3 Marine Parade, Southend, Essex 0.45 0.72 Mar-12 WA1 A465 Head of the Valleys, Wales 7.91 12.73 May-12 SY1 A61 Sheffield to A616 (T) South Yorkshire  HA 4.14 6.66 Nov-12 NO16 A6097 Epperstone Bypass, Nottingham 6.44 10.36 Apr-13 HU1 A16 Peaks Parkway 1.19 1.92 Jul-13 NO17 A6097 (A614 East Bridgford), Nottingham 1.91 3.07 Feb-14 NO18 A60 Chuckney Hill, Nottinghamshire 1.25 2.01 Mar-14 SC2 A9 Dunblane to Inverness, Transport Scotland 98.55 158.60 Oct-14 WA2 M4 J40-41a Port Talbot HA 2.09 3.36 Oct-14 ES4 A120 Pelhams Corner, Essex 1.83 2.95 Feb-15 ES5 A13 Aveley to Thurrock 3.51 5.65 Feb-15 NO19 A38 Alfreton Road to Sherwood, Nottinghamshire 2.58 4.15 Feb-15 ES6 A12 Kelvedon Bypass, Essex 4.47 7.19 Mar-15 NO20 Bells Lane, Nottingham 0.41 0.66 May-15 NO21 Winchester Street, Nottingham 0.37 0.60 May-15 LI1 A15 Metheringham, Lincs 2.54 4.09 Jun-15 LO2 Dartford Free-Flow 3.58 5.76 Jun-15 ST2 A515 Duffield Lane, Staffordshire 3.42 5.50 Jun-15 ST3 A519 Woodseaves, Staffordshire 0.68 1.09 Jun-15 CA4 A1139 Fletton Parkway, Cambridgeshire 0.96 1.54 Jul-15 NO22 South Church Drive, Nottingham 1.52 2.45 Nov-15   TOTAL 254.56 409.66  

Despite the slump in the value of the pound against the euro, the hundreds of thousands of diesel car owners driving to Europe for the school holidays might still be better off filling up on the continent than here. While the post-referendum devaluation of sterling means bigger bills for UK drivers abroad, the UK still heads the EU league table of diesel prices. This is because the UK remains the only country in the EU where the rate of duty charged on diesel is the same as for petrol. In every other one of the 28 member states the rate of duty is lower on diesel than petrol. Diesel in the UK is averaging 113p per litre. Italy is second most expensive (110p) and Sweden third (109p). Drivers will pay most for petrol in the Netherlands (129p a litre), followed by Italy (123p) and Denmark (122p). The UK is the eighth most expensive EU country for petrol (112p). A month after the referendum on European Union membership, prices in other EU countries are, on average, 6% higher in sterling terms. This is broadly equivalent to 6p a litre. This means, for example, that each time the driver of a Ford Focus with a 55 litre fuel tank fills up in Europe they will pay £3.30 more than they would have in the week prior to the vote. In the month since the referendum UK pump prices have remained stable. This is because although the price of oil has declined this has been offset by a weakening of the pound against the dollar (the currency in which oil is traded). This is the current (as of 18 July) list of EU pump prices.   Petrol Prices Diesel Rank Country Price Rank Country Price 1 Neth'lands £1.29 1 UK £1.13 2 Italy £1.23 2 Italy £1.10 3 Denmark £1.22 3 Sweden £1.09 4 Portugal £1.22 4 Denmark £1.03 5 Finland £1.16 5 Portugal £1.03 6 Belgium £1.12 6 Neth'lands £1.01 7 Greece £1.12 7 Belgium £1.00 8 UK £1.12 8 Finland £0.99 9 Ireland £1.11 9 Ireland £0.98 10 Sweden £1.11 10 Malta £0.97 11 Germany £1.09 11 Cyprus £0.96 12 France £1.08 12 France £0.94 13 Malta £1.07 13 Romania £0.94 14 Slovenia £1.02 14 Slovenia £0.94 15 Croatia £0.97 15 Croatia £0.93 16 Cyprus £0.96 16 Germany £0.92 17 Spain £0.96 17 Estonia £0.88 18 Romania £0.95 18 Greece £0.88 19 Austria £0.93 19 Hungary £0.87 20 Slovakia £0.91 20 Spain £0.87 21 Estonia £0.90 21 Austria £0.85 22 Latvia £0.90 22 Slovakia £0.85 23 Lux'bourg £0.90 23 Bulgaria £0.82 24 Czech R. £0.89 24 Czech R. £0.82 25 Lithuania £0.87 25 Latvia £0.81 26 Hungary £0.86 26 Lux'bourg £0.78 27 Bulgaria £0.84 27 Poland £0.77 28 Poland £0.81 28 Lithuania £0.74   Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Talk of fuel prices going through the roof in the wake of a Brexit vote have proved to be fanciful with UK pump prices at essentially the same level they were before the vote. “What might surprise drivers is that even allowing for the slump in the value of sterling they might still be better off buying diesel on the continent. “The key message is that pump prices are determined by a whole host of factors. The exchange rate is one of them. The price of oil is another. But taxation is perhaps the most important of all. “Before tax the UK actually has only the 22nd most expensive petrol in the 28 member states of the EU. With tax we jump to 8th in the league table. For diesel the UK is 23rd before tax, but we soar to the top of the list once tax is added.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Steve Gooding – Director – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 07912 177450 | 020 7747 3445 Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org  

The RAC Foundation has welcomed the measures included in the Motoring Services Strategy published today. In the document ministers have made the following pledges: We will consult on changing the law to allow learner drivers accompanied by an ADI to drive on the motorway network in a dual controlled car. We will look to expand the range of test slots available outside daytime weekday slots, on a permanent basis, across a wider range of centres than at present. We are exploring whether other models of service delivery might offer a better service to road users, either as an alternative to the current arrangements or to complement them, including involving the private sector in delivery. DVSA will reform the driving test (and, thereby, pre-test learning) to encourage more real life driving experience and ensure that it takes account of local variations and increasing vehicle automation.   Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "This strategy shows ministers have their eyes firmly on the road ahead. Last year the government started trials of a new-style driving test at 32 test centres around the country. The trials include more independent driving and new manoeuvres such as driving into, and reversing out of, a parking bay. “Use of a sat nav in the driving test is also already being trialled, but the day will come when levels of automation could mean that programming the destination might be the only thing we do before sitting back and enjoying the ride in our driverless car. We are not there yet but it’s good to see the rapidly changing face of motoring being considered. "Countless other services are now offered beyond normal office hours so it is welcome that the chance to sit the driving test at times convenient to the customer rather than the provider are being considered. "Neither the learner driver nor the public is really concerned about who provides the examination services - the government or private contractors - as long as standards and costs are consistent." In the strategy, ministers also promised that: "We will explore the development of a voluntary electronic logbook, which will enable learner drivers and their instructors to record progress, and give them confidence in deciding when to go forward for the practical test. Anonymised data from the logbook system might also be a source of information for DVSA in planning ahead to provide test slots. We will consider whether the logbook should cover not only those competencies needed to pass the practical test, but also behaviours that will inculcate a positive attitude to eco-driving and courtesy towards other, especially vulnerable, road users."  Steve Gooding said: “Aggressive driving is a factor in at least one in fourteen fatal accidents, and that's probably a large underestimate. Encouraging our future motorists to mind their Ps and Qs would sensibly recognise that safe driving is much a matter of behaviour behind the wheel as it is of technical skill.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

A scrappage scheme aimed at removing the dirtiest diesel cars from the roads would have to be on a huge scale to have any significant effect.  Analysis by the RAC Foundation found that approximately 1.9 million diesel cars fall into the oldest, most polluting Euro standard categories: 1, 2 and 3. They account for some 17% of all diesel cars on the road (11.2 million in total) and are responsible for 15% of total NOx emissions from diesel cars based on estimates of real world driving data and annual mileages from MOT records. The analysis calculated what might happen if a scheme was implemented along the same lines as that run in 2009/10 as an economic stimulus for the car industry. This would take 400,000 of the oldest diesel cars off the road at a cost of some £800 million with the government and manufacturers both contributing £1,000 each to help people who trade in their existing vehicle replace it with a new model. If every one of the 400,000 older cars was replaced with a new zero-emission electric vehicle then the cut in annual NOx emissions from the diesel fleet would be about 4,900 tonnes or 3.2% of the total emissions from diesel cars. This drops to 2,000 tonnes per annum (1.3% of the total) if the scrapped cars were replaced with the latest Euro 6 diesel models and driven the same distance as those scrapped. However there could be an annual increase of about 300 tonnes if the replacement Euro 6 diesels were driven as much as the other Euro 6 diesels being sold, with the mileages of all other vehicles remaining the same. Furthermore it would be hard to target a scrappage scheme at those cars being used in urban areas where poor air quality is of greatest concern. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Instinctively a scrappage scheme to get the oldest, dirtiest diesels off the road seems like a good idea. But these numbers suggest otherwise. “At best it looks like emissions would be reduced by only a few percent, unless government was prepared to launch a scheme on an unprecedented scale. “The big considerations for any scheme include: where diesels are being driven, how far they are being driven and how do these factors change with the age of the vehicle. “Before being tempted to go down the scrappage route ministers need to ask if the sums might be better spent elsewhere, for example in making sure that the infrastructure is in place to support plug-in electric vehicles.” Steve Gooding continued: “The big problem is that not only have the oldest diesel cars failed to live up to official environmental standards, so too have many more recent ones. So a scrappage scheme could cost hundreds of millions of pounds and barely dent the problem. “There needs to be a big drive to get more people, and fleet buyers, to commit to ultra-green motoring and that means government subsidies must remain in place to close the price gap that still exists between vehicles powered by alternative fuels and those driven by fossil fuels. “Already some manufacturers have warned that the still fragile electric car market could be killed off if subsidies are withdrawn too hastily. “As the government has itself recognised in its plan for clean air zones, the most pressing issue is what to do about commercial vehicles. A major proportion of the emissions of NOx from road transport come from heavy duty vehicles such as lorries buses and taxis.” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org This is a link to the scrappage paper: http://www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/Diesel_scrappage_scheme_calculation_Al_PG_Final_March_11_2016.pdf    

In Budget 2016 the Chancellor has announced that fuel duty would remain frozen for the next year. It has now been at 57.95p per litre for both petrol and diesel since March 2011. Commenting on the news Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Transport is the biggest area of household expenditure bar none, but 38 million drivers will be relieved it didn’t just get bigger still. And the Chancellor will hardly be out of pocket. As it stands Mr Osborne remains on course to collect more than £27 billion in fuel duty alone next year. “The spectre of a fuel duty hike vanished when Mr Osborne said, ‘We understand that tax affects behaviour. So let’s tax the things we want to reduce’. “With VAT and fuel duty already accounting for three-quarters of the price motorists pay at the pumps any increase would have been tantamount to the Chancellor deciding to drive people off the road. "Instead this freeze will keep the economy moving and help the 60% of people travelling to work by car to do so affordably.” (The chart above is available to embed on news websites. This is the embed code: <iframe class="highcharts-iframe" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 480px;" src="//cloud.highcharts.com/embed/exawug"></iframe>) And reacting to the news that tolls on the Severn Crossing will be halved when it reverts to public ownership in a couple of years' time Steve Gooding added:  “On the face of it this is good news, but where are the sums? If a toll is needed to cover the cost of operating and maintaining this vital link then all well and good, but might the numbers show that the Chancellor could have gone further?” ENDS Contact: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org

The Chancellor has announced ring-fenced funding for spending on strategic roads. In the Summer Budget 2015 Mr Osborne said that the proceeds of Vehicle Excise Duty would form the basis of a new road fund. It would be the first time since the 1930s that a dedicated road fund has been seen. The scheme is very similar in design to that outlined in a paper by Brian Wadsworth published by the RAC Foundation last month. The Chancellor also said that a new system of VED banding would be created coming into operation in 2017 for all new cars from that date: "First year rates (FYRs) will vary according to the carbon dioxide emissions of the vehicle. There will be a flat standard rate (SR) of £140 for all cars except those emitting 0 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (gCO2/km), for which the standard rate will be £0. Cars with a list price above £40,000 will attract a supplement of £310 per year for the first 5 years in which the standard rate is paid." Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “We welcomed the recent introduction of the long-term investment plans for major roads, but we were concerned about how they would be paid for. Now we know. “VED was introduced well over a century ago and for many years provided ring-fenced funding for roads. With this bold move, we have today gone full circle. “This certainty of funding for Highways England is something we have called for and are pleased to see delivered. “Thirty seven million drivers will also be pleased that at least some of the tens of billions of pounds they contribute in tax each year is now guaranteed to be used for investment in strategic roads. “But it is important that we see investment in all our roads, not just the 2% that are motorways and major A roads. “Drivers will be less pleased that their costs are likely to increase because of the VED banding changes, though this financial pain will in part be set off by the real term drop in showroom prices we have seen in recent years.” On the announcement that the first MOT for cars would now come after four years rather than three Steve Gooding said: “This move recognises that modern vehicles are increasingly reliable and will save drivers money. But the MOT does focus people’s minds on the state of their cars and they will need to keep an eye on the perishables, whether it be their tyres or wiper blades.” This is a brief history of VED: 1889 – Vehicle Excise Duty first introduced. 1909 - In the ‘People’s Budget’ Lloyd George announced that the proceeds of VED would be used to fund the building and maintenance of the road network. 1920 – The terms Road Fund and Road Fund Licence came into existence. 1936 – Hypothecation or ring-fencing of the Road Fund ended by the Finance Act. 2014 – 69% of new cars registered in Great Britain were exempt from VED in their first year on the road because they emitted less than 131gCO2/km and fell into bands A-D. 2013/14 - VED raised £6.1 billion with the money going into the Treasury’s general consolidated fund. (By way of comparison fuel duty raised £26.9 billion.) ENDS Contacts: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected] Notes to editors: The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705.  All of the RAC Foundation’s fuel and oil price data is available on our website: www.racfoundation.org/data

Steve Gooding is to become the new director of the RAC Foundation. He will succeed Professor Stephen Glaister CBE. Steve is expected to take up the post in May 2015 when Professor Glaister will retire. Steve has been Director General of Roads, Traffic and Local Group at the Department for Transport since 2013. Recently he has been leading the work that will result in the transformation of the Highways Agency into Highways England. He has also been responsible for overseeing the work of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).  Steve joined the Civil Service in 1983 and moved into the central transport department in 1988 where he has worked ever since except for periods spent in the Cabinet Office, the Government Office for London and the Office of the Rail Regulator. During his time at the Department for Transport (and its predecessors) Steve has: Led policy development of the SMART motorways concept Developed and led strategy to tackle the environmental impacts of road transport Led a major study on the feasibility of national road pricing Been a director of the Office of the Rail Regulator Worked on a wide range of transport policies including high speed rail, sustainable travel and promoting the digital agenda Steve is currently a vice president at the Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport. Talking of his appointment Steve Gooding said: “I have been aware of the RAC Foundation and its excellent research work for many years, and to have the opportunity to join the organisation is a great opportunity, a privilege and a considerable responsibility building on the work of my predecessors. “I have long been fascinated by transport and travel, and I am very conscious of the fundamental part mobility plays in all our lives, not least those of the UK’s 38 million drivers. “This understanding comes not just from my professional life but also personal experience. As the father of teenage sons and with an elderly mother who wants to retain her independence I understand the safety and economic implications of making access to personal transport widely available. “Some of the biggest political and social debates touch on transport including climate change, public health, infrastructure provision, and the funding and financing of public services. I am looking forward to leading the Foundation’s contribution on these issues.” Steve Gooding will report to the RAC Foundation’s board of trustees. The chair of the RAC Foundation, Joe Greenwell CBE DL, said: “We are delighted Steve Gooding has agreed to be our new director. His expertise, knowledge, experience and policy insights in the transport field are second to none and he will be a great successor to Stephen Glaister who has steered the Foundation so admirably over the past seven years. “On behalf of the Foundation’s board and staff I would like to thank Stephen Glaister for his outstanding leadership of the Foundation, and for the rigour and illumination he has brought to the transport debate.” ENDS Contacts: RAC Foundation: Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications [email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN) | 07711 776448 Notes to editors: Steve Gooding has a degree in politics from the University of Durham. He holds both a full driving licence and a full motorcycle licence. His first car was a Mini. A photo of Steve is available on request. The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705. Details of the Foundation’s work is available at www.racfoundation.org