Road Council Report 13 February 2025

Road Council met on Thursday 13 February in London and was joined by guest speaker Dave Buttery, Head of Roads Policy at the Department for Transport (DfT). He set out the government’s vision for future roads investment, including the Lower Thames Crossing, linked to the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).

Also covered was the continuing digitisation work on traffic regulation orders that will allow for future innovation in areas such as dynamic kerbside use. Members asked questions on bridge strikes and whether the Department could ask satnav companies to introduce the ability to enter vehicle dimensions into their mapping software.

Council also considered the Association’s policy positions on the consultation on regulatory flexibility for vans up to 4.25 tonnes, the CSR, and the recently launched Integrated National Transport Strategy. Members held discussions on several subjects including a review of the Senior Traffic Commissioner’s Statutory Documents, speed limits across the country, and the recent red weather alerts and their impact on contingency planning.

The next Road Council meeting in June will go into this last subject in greater detail as members believe that the current method for requesting emergency relaxations of drivers’ hours could be improved on such occasions.

If any member has any questions about Road Council and the discussions, please contact Chris Yarsley.