Ms Truss stressed the importance of investment in the nation’s infrastructure and pledged that faster road building will be a priority under her leadership.

Ms Truss declared: “Now is the time to tackle the issues that are holding Britain back. We need to build roads, homes and broadband faster. We need more investment and great jobs in every town and city in the country.

“I have a bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform. I will cut taxes to reward hard work and boost business-led growth and investment. I will drive reform in my mission to get the United Kingdom working, building and growing.” 

Dealing with current pressures including mounting inflation and low energy supply, was also within her plan. The new PM has plenty of experience in the energy and telecommunications industry having previously worked in the sector for 10 years.

“We will get spades in the ground to make sure people are not facing unaffordable energy bills and we will also make sure that we are building hospitals, schools, roads and broadband”, Truss added.

The next steps for investment in the strategic road network will come from the Department for Transport’s draft Road Investment Strategy. This will then be finalised and National Highways’ will begin its Strategic Business Plan, mobilising the building of new roads in 2024-2025.

Elizabeth Truss was appointed prime minister on 6 September 2022. She was previously secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs from 15 September 2021 and minister for women and equalities from 10 September 2019.

Read another one of our blog posts and stay up to date with the latest in road safety news. If you’re looking for a free road marking quote, click here.

As part of the roll-out, the Government has pledged to spend an additional £100 million to facilitate autonomous vehicles, including £34 million towards new research and a further £20 million spent on commercial services. 

Alongside this, ministers have committed to bringing forward new laws to support the introduction of self-driving cars by 2025. This new legislation would implicate manufacturers as responsible for a vehicle’s actions, meaning human drivers would not be liable for any incidents related to driving. 

Users won’t need to hold a driving licence as the vehicle will undertake the entire journey without needing human input. The technology works by using a combination of lasers, cameras and radar to recognise objects, like other cars and pedestrians, to plot a course and navigate the car.

There are a few different levels of autonomous control. Some vehicles have driverless features which can be turned on or off by the driver, but other cars won’t need any human interaction at all.

Vehicles capable of driving themselves on motorways could be available to purchase within the next year, though users will need a valid driving licence to drive one.

The Government will also seek to determine regulatory guidelines for the governance of self-driving vehicles. The safety ambition for self-driving cars is to be as competent and careful as a safe human driver. 

This ambition would inform minimum benchmarks that vehicles need to meet before being allowed on our roads. Likewise, organisations such as manufacturers could face sanctions if these standards are not met.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We want the UK to be at the forefront of developing and using this fantastic technology, and that is why we are investing millions in vital research into the safety and setting the legislation to ensure we gain the full benefits that this technology promises.”

To stay up to date with the latest in road safety news, read another one of our blog posts. Or, for a free road marking quote, click here.

Start-up energy company, Cheesecake Energy Ltd (CEL), says its ‘eTanker’ battery could speed up electric car charging while also protecting the grid from a potential overload.

The battery is both a green and a low-cost solution as its materials are repurposed from ex-service Volvo truck engines. 

The technology works by heating and compressing air before storing it in a tank containing 20 tonnes of gravel. When electricity is required, the compressed air and heat are used to turn the Volvo truck engines which drive the electric motors in reverse to generate electricity.

This means there is no need for expensive and rare metals, such as cobalt, that are used in traditional lithium-ion batteries. Not only are these hard to resource, but the process of extraction is detrimental to the environment. 

CEL has announced that their new technology could save drivers up to 40% compared to the current cheapest batteries available on the market. 

Annette Pass, head of innovation at National Highways, commented: “Cheesecake’s project is an excellent example of the changes that are being made to reduce carbon in the transport industry. It also plays a part in National Highway’s net zero carbon plan, which will see a rapid cut in carbon from road construction, maintenance and operations, and supports the transition to zero-emission vehicles.”

To stay up to date with the latest in road safety news, read another one of our blog posts. Or, for a free road marking quote, click here.