Philip Brown will be the first Statutory Senior Traffic Commissioner to be appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, under new powers in the Local Transport Act 2008. He will be formally appointed and take up his new role when the powers come into force in Spring 2009. Philip is currently Traffic Commissioner for the South Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Area and has also been the administrative Senior Traffic Commissioner since March 2003. This appointment follows a ... read more

Motorists are being urged to make safer driving one of their New Year’s Resolutions for 2009. The Driving Standards Agency is appealing to drivers to reduce the number of fatalities on UK roads. The Driving Standards Agency’s Director for Safer Driving, Trevor Wedge, is asking all drivers to help reduce the numbers dying on British roads. Wedge said, “There have been some significant achievements during the last few years in bringing road deaths down. Yet in 2007 almost 3,000 people ... read more

Joints on Barton Bridge, which takes the M60 over the Manchester Ship Canal near the Trafford Centre, will be renewed in a £2.1 million project beginning on 15 January and ending by Easter 2009. The scheme has been carefully planned to limit delays to road users; work will take place at night, with consideration given to temporarily suspending work if high volumes of night-time traffic are expected. To reduce the impact on traffic flows, work will be carried out on the M60 between junctions ... read more

Kwik-Fit Fleet has announced that the company will be offering free winter safety checks for all fleet driver’s this winter. With the onset of freezing driving conditions, fog and wet roads, company car and van drivers can call in at any of Kwik-Fit’s 670 High Street centres for the free five-point safety check, which covers: • Tyre check - pressures, tread depth and general condition (including spare) • Battery check - using electronic test equipment • Exhaust check - condition and ... read more

Road tax evasion has fallen by more than 40 per cent in the last year, statistics published today by the Department for Transport show. The annual survey showed just 1 per cent of vehicles are not licensed, compared to 1.7 per cent in 2007, and that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) collected an estimated 99.1 per cent of all potential revenue from road tax in 2008. Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: “The vast majority of motorists properly license their vehicles, ... read more

A new environmentally friendly approach to transporting freight was announced today, as Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon published a blueprint for working with and supporting the industry. With Britain’s freight doubling over the last forty years, the Government is looking at the effectiveness of the current system and the most efficient way to transport goods. Geoff Hoon said: “We have a world-leading freight industry, which contributes significantly to the economy of this country ... read more

The Department of Transport has been criticised for the ‘incompetent’ implementation of a plan to reduce administration expenses, the BBC reports. The plans which should save £57m will now end up costing the taxpayer £81m according to MPs. The project which included moving payroll, finance and services all to one site in Swansea and the implementation of a new computer system; has been rushed through and not fully introduced and is now set to make a loss. The Commons public accounts ... read more

Drivers will soon benefit from a new intelligent traffic light system at Silverlink roundabout on the A19, Tyne and Wear. The MOVA (Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation) traffic light system, which uses electronic sensors to adjust signal timings in response to changing traffic flows, has been installed at Silverlink roundabout to smooth traffic flows and ease peak time congestion. All that is required now is to transfer from the old control system to the new one. This work will take ... read more

Plans to help athletes, officials, and media move efficiently during the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, whilst minimising impact on the normal running of London, has taken a major step forward today as Transport Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick launched a consultation on which roads could be included in the Olympic Route Network (ORN). London, like previous Host Cities, will use a network of existing roads to link all competition and key non-competition venues to create the ORN. This first ... read more

Hull will receive £665,000 of new Government funding to help repair roads damaged by last year’s floods, Transport Minister, Paul Clark, announced today. Paul Clark said: “Last year’s floods damaged many local roads, and I know how important it is for communities to get those roads repaired. We have been working closely with the councils affected since last year’s floods to help them identify what repairs are needed. This money is in addition to the £40m we have made ... read more