Future developments could involve adding CCTV and wireless technology to the UK’s street lights. This would provide information on speed limits, diversions and traffic alerts, enabling more efficient journey planning.

The trial was part of National Highways’ aim to incorporate technology that can communicate messages more effectively across the network, supporting a wider autonomous vehicle infrastructure. 

In addition to these benefits, the project saw more environmentally-friendly LEDs replace the previous lighting. As well as being greener for the planet, the new bulbs are designed to disperse clearer light.

Lisa Maric, innovations lead for the Midlands at National Highways, said: “These are exciting times as we progress on our ‘digital roads’ journey with the growth of digital technology and the move to electric, connected and autonomous vehicles that will fundamentally change how we use roads in the future.

“National Highways is committed to ensuring we are at the forefront of this digital revolution and are preparing the way for the greener and safer roads of tomorrow.

“Initial trials such as Illuminate will help us identify new innovations, technology and methods to meet our digital goals. We were pleased with how Illuminate performed as a proof of concept and the useful knowledge gained as we continue to plan for the roads of the future.”

Recent technological advancements have allowed this progression in street lighting. The increased bandwidth of 5G internet supports the transfer of more information, while the internet of things (IoT) is set to play an important role in the future of autonomous vehicles.

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From September, students will be able to go into the game and explore three proposed national road schemes: the proposed Lower Thames Crossing, A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements and the A303 past Stonehenge.

The government-owned company hopes that the educational package will help the next generation understand the skills needed for such projects, as well as the potential career paths. 

It’s expected that the game will inspire more students to aim for a career in one of the many jobs within transport infrastructure. These include archaeology, biology, ecology, civil engineering, communications technology and coding.

There are five games, as well as a creative mode that teachers can use in their lessons with key stage 2 and key stage 3 classes. They can practise virtual activities such as tunnelling, excavation, responding to environmental factors and learning about biodiversity near Stonehenge.

Natalie Jones, National Highways talent delivery lead, said: “We want to inspire the next generation of talented engineers and scientists, on whom the country’s infrastructure and national economy will one day depend.

“With the help of Minecraft and the in-game activities, students will get first-hand experience of what would go into building a huge bridge or digging a giant tunnel. In real life, these are multi-million-pound structures that are carefully designed and then built by experts.”

Schools simply need access to Microsoft Education Centre to access the package.

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The platform is the UK’s first Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology, which has been developed by a consortium led by Vodafone, Nokia and Chordant. Its purpose is to improve the safety of all road users by combining modern mobile technologies with intelligent in-vehicle systems.

Drivers that have opted-in to the service will be provided with real-time road information on the go. The localised and targeted updates will include anything from lane closures to speed restrictions and traffic accidents.

To begin with, the notifications will be available through drivers’ smartphones, but the technology will be introduced to in-car systems in the future. Authorities are also trialling its use in easing traffic jams and hope that it could eventually allow emergency services to respond to incidents more efficiently.

Furthermore, the project is seen as taking an important first step in the innovation and technology needed to safely introduce self-driving vehicles to UK roads.

Vodafone stated that in 2020, over 70% of all cars were built with digital telematics capabilities, which will only help to create a more streamlined and connected transport ecosystem.

Luke Ibbetson, Head of Group R&D at Vodafone, said: “It’s fantastic to see vehicle-to-everything mobile technology being deployed on the open road for the first time in the UK. Meanwhile, we are working with the automotive industry and road operators to have the technology integrated within vehicles and transport infrastructure to make our roads safer.”

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Ofgem says that this comes as part of a larger push to ‘ensure Britain has the energy infrastructure it needs to support the move to low carbon transport and heating while maintaining secure supplies’.

The money will be delivered over the next two years, helping to triple the current network of charging stations. These additional charge points (including new ultra-rapid charge points) will be positioned in key locations, such as cities, motorway services and train stations in rural areas.

Currently, an increasing number of people are choosing to buy electric vehicles. However, Ofgem has found that up to 36% of households not intending to purchase one stated a lack of nearby charge points as a reason why.

The government regulator hopes that the roll-out of these plans will help to address concerns surrounding the issues of range and access to a charger.

Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of Ofgem, said: “The payment will support the rapid take up of electric vehicles, which will be vital if Britain is to hit its climate change targets. Drivers need to be confident that they can charge their car quickly when they need to.”

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean also added: “With more than 500,000 electric cars now on UK roads, this will help to increase this number even further as drivers continue to make the switch to cleaner, greener vehicles.”

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It also revealed that concern was higher among female drivers and road users over the age of 70. This comes despite evidence that the main cause of most incidents on the road is human error.

While giving greater control to the technology within automated vehicles could reduce accidents, the charity believes that this will only be the case if drivers are trained to use new systems correctly.

Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research, said: “Autonomous and automated vehicle technology is becoming an integral part of everyday motoring and while it does have the capacity to improve road safety, its capabilities must be fully understood to ensure we don’t over-rely on them.

‘Over-reliance on these systems, and a lack of training on how to use them, could have a negative effect, with potentially worrying results for motorists and pedestrians alike”.

If government projections are correct, around 40 per cent of new car sales in the UK could have self-driving features in less than 15 years. Many claim this will benefit the economy financially and through the creation of more jobs.

“As an ever-increasing number of vehicle systems take on the tasks that drivers used to perform, IAM RoadSmart is calling for an understanding of automated features to be included in the UK driving test”, Greig added. 

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The government-owned company aims to ensure that motorists have the clearest possible directions while driving, in order to keep all road users as safe as possible.

Faded road markings can cause issues by confusing drivers who are following them. If the layout of the road changes, but previous markings are still visible, this can lead to accidents. Old lines can often be more visible in bright sunshine.

The current process of removing ghost markings can also damage the road surface, resulting in further necessary repairs and a higher backlog of work to be done.

Launched in conjunction with Roadcare and Kier, the £685,000 competition hopes to find an industry-leading solution to this problem within the global sector.

Highways England’s Innovation Director Paul Doney, said: “We were delighted with the response from existing suppliers and beyond, with some competitors even developing bespoke products. We are confident we will have some sustainable solutions to the challenges faced on road markings at the moment.”

The competition was financed through the £150m ring-fenced funds that Highways England offered for innovation projects. Real-life testing on motorways will be carried out until May 2021, when the final results will be analysed and shared within the industry. 

Highways England’s Chief Engineer, Mike Wilson, said: “By developing and using new and improved products and ways of working across the industry, lanes will be more distinct in roadworks and finished schemes will have clearer markings. All this will mean safer and better journeys for drivers.

‘Less damage to the road also means fewer potholes and less need for repairs that impact upon people’s journeys.”

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If a vehicle exceeds the set emission limit, the motorist may be charged (if they choose to drive in one of the set zones). Bath, Birmingham and London are set to launch theirs in March, June and October 2021.

As many as 67 monitoring and enforcement cameras have already been installed by Siemens Mobility in Birmingham city centre. This is in preparation for the zone coming into force in June of this year. The technology used in these Sicore II devices will use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and are set to lead the way for this scheme.

10 of England’s local authorities are following directions from the central government to comply with legal limits regarding nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. These are to be met as soon as possible and by 2024, at the very latest. The new zones come despite the hope that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic may have helped to curb traffic pollution.

In Greater Manchester, plans for a CAZ covering the entire city region are soon to be confirmed by constituent councils. Their goal is to open the zone in the spring of 2022.

Councillor Andrew Western, GMCA Lead for the Green City-Region, said: “We did see a brief, short-term improvement in air quality due to the pandemic, but once the economy opened again, road traffic levels grew quickly, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels by late 2020. 

“So, analysis has shown that the pandemic won’t lead to a big enough long-term reduction in harmful nitrogen dioxide air pollution on our local roads to meet legal limits without a Clean Air Zone”.

While there has been some opposition locally, the Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, hoped to quell concerns. She stated that “only the most polluting older vehicles are charged in a Clean Air Zone, and it is not a congestion charge”.

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These include: implementing a safety assurance scheme (including the continued monitoring of vehicles’ performance and software updates), defining the responsibilities of the driver and recognising the role of manufacturers.

Automated vehicles will fall into two different categories: one for vehicles which can complete sections of the journey itself (during motorway driving, for example) but would require a human to take over the rest of the way, and one for those which can perform an entire journey without the need for an accompanying person.

When the car is driving itself, but a person is needed in the vehicle, the individual becomes the ‘user-in-charge’. This means that they are responsible for certain details (like insurance) but not for driving the vehicle.

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: “Self-driving vehicles can contribute to improving and levelling up transport across the country, making everyday journeys greener, safer, more flexible and more reliable.

“The UK is leading the way on the regulation of this technology, supporting innovation and putting safety at the heart of everything we do – ensuring self-driving vehicles are safe, secure and ultimately benefit all of society.”

The upcoming framework will be “underpinned by robust incident investigation and enforced through a flexible range of regulatory powers and sanctions”, the Law Commissions said.

These legal plans have been published as the final consultation from the Law Commissions after being tasked with the review by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). The full report is expected to be released in the last quarter of the year.

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