Roads
All Standard Notes
73 Documents
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 23.04.2013 | Parking: disabled drivers |
| This note is chiefly concerned with the blue badge scheme; it also includes sections on the provision of parking bays and on off-street parking for disabled people. | |
| 17.04.2013 | Roads: speed limits |
| This note outlines the legislation on speed limits and how local authorities can vary limits in their areas. It also explains the policy of successive governments towards speed limits, including their views on 20 mph zones and speeds in rural areas. | |
| 15.04.2013 | Roads: speed cameras |
| This note outlines the legislative basis for speed cameras, the types of cameras in use and includes information on their funding. It also discusses issues surrounding their efficacy. | |
| 11.04.2013 | Driving: alcohol |
| This note sets out the offences associated with driving and drinking and the policies of successive governments. | |
| 10.04.2013 | Driving: young and novice drivers |
| This note explains the driver licensing and testing arrangements for new drivers and provides information on various initiatives - such as post-test restrictions and 'black box' monitoring devices - designed to make these drivers safer and to reduce the cost of driving. | |
| 26.03.2013 | Taxation of road fuels |
| This note sets out the way in which road fuels are taxed, and the Government's approach in recent years, before discussing the recent debate about reducing the burden of high oil prices on road users. | |
| 22.03.2013 | Oil Prices |
| Oil prices peaked at almost $150 Dollars a barrel in July 2008 and fell sharply in the second half of 2008 as the global financial crisis hit. Prices have increased since then, despite a fairly weak global economy. Political unrest across the Middle East and the revolt in Libya contributed to further price rises in early 2011. Subsequent prices have been volatile; falling amid concerns about the world economy and going up as tension between Iran and the West increases. Some commentators have said that quantitative easing has contributed to the underlying price increases. Sustained high prices in 2011 meant the annual average price was above that seen in 2008 and the highest since 1864. The latest spot price is around $102 per barrel. This is $48 below the peak, but the weaker pound has meant that recent Sterling prices have frequently approached or exceeded their 2008 peak. The International Energy Agency's business as usual projections put the price of oil at almost $250 per barrel in 2035. | |
| 14.03.2013 | Driving: medical conditions |
| This Note outlines the rules for driving with a medical condition generally and specifically for those suffering from either diabetes or epilepsy or who have poor eyesight. | |
| 12.03.2013 | Reported road accident statistics |
| In 2011, there were 203,950 reported casualties on the roads of Great Britain, including 1,901 fatalities and 23,122 serious casualties. This Note provides a range of data relating to reported road accidents in Great Britain. | |
| 06.03.2013 | Driving: older drivers |
| This short note describes the driving licence rules for people over the age of 70, including the medical requirements. | |
| 22.02.2013 | Petrol and diesel prices |
| Road fuel prices have increased steadily since their recent lows in early 2009. Petrol prices reached a record monthly high in May 2010, set new records in December 2010 and in each of the following five months and broke these again in March and April 2012. Diesel prices exceeded their summer 2008 highs in January 2011 and also set new highs in each of the next four months. New records were set in February, March and April 2012. Prices fell by 10 11 pence per litre over summer, approached the earlier highs in early autumn 2012 but fell back somewhat in winter. | |
| 24.01.2013 | Motor car insurance |
| This note outlines some of the reasons given for the substantial rise in motor insurance premiums experienced by many constituents in the last year. | |
| 24.01.2013 | Driving: serious offences |
| This note explains the basic framework for serious road traffic offences, sentencing and charging policy and details of the new offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. | |
| 24.01.2013 | Roads: maintenance, repairs and street works |
| This note describes the framework in which local authorities and the Highways Agency in England and Wales maintain and repair the road network. It also sets out the powers of utility companies and others to undertake street works and the powers available to highway authorities to manage and mitigate those works. It does not deal with winter maintenance, which is covered separately in SN2874. | |
| 17.01.2013 | Roads: vehicle excise duty (VED) |
| This note outlines the rates of vehicle excise duty (VED) for cars and other vehicles and gives information as to the exemptions from payment and how the Government enforces its collection. | |
| 15.01.2013 | Road fuel prices: Social Indicators page |
| UK pretrol and diesel price trends and cross EU price comparisons | |
| 10.01.2013 | Passenger transport: Social indicators page |
| Passenger transport, by mode. Social indicators page. | |
| 10.01.2013 | Road traffic: Social Indicators page |
| Trends since 1950 of road traffic in Great Britain. | |
| 05.12.2012 | Transport: winter maintenance |
| This note looks at the Quarmby recommendations to improve the resilience of all modes of transport to extreme weather, focusing particularly on the road network. It also explains the duty of highways authorities to ensure that safe passage along the highway is not endangered by snow or ice and looks briefly at issues of salt and grit supplies. | |
| 29.11.2012 | Transport: Motability |
| This note explains the eligibility for and operation of the Motability scheme for disabled people. | |
| 08.11.2012 | London Olympics 2012: transport |
| This note gives an overview of the transport planning for the Games and summarises the performance of the London transport network during the Games period. | |
| 29.10.2012 | Roads: lorry road user charging |
| This note provides information on the implementation of the HGV road user levy, to be introduced in the UK from April 2014. | |
| 08.10.2012 | Parking: policy |
| This note summarises parking policy in England: civil parking enforcement and parking on private land or private roads. | |
| 19.09.2012 | Road accident casualties: Social Indicators page |
| A summary of road accidents casualty statistics. There were 1,901 road deaths in Great Britain in 2011, an increase of 3% on 2010. | |
| 06.08.2012 | Parking: wheel clamping |
| This Note describes the law on wheel clamping on public roads and the legal position of clamping on private land. As this is a devolved issue in Scotland it deals with England and Wales only. | |
| 08.06.2012 | Taxis: quantity restrictions |
| This note looks at the issue of quantity restrictions on taxis and proposals for their removal. Taxi regulation is a devolved matter; this note deals only with England and Wales. | |
| 08.06.2012 | Driving: drugs |
| This note sets out the offences for drug driving and the evidential problems associated with their enforcement. | |
| 07.06.2012 | Driving: licences |
| This note explains the law related to driver licensing, including the changes introduced in the UK by virtue of European Directives. There is a separate section on the new licensing regime for HGV drivers, introduced in 2009. | |
| 30.05.2012 | Sources of social statistics: Transport |
| This note is intended as a guide to the key sources in transport statistics. It represents a self-help guide, providing a starting point for those interested in obtaining statistics for themselves. | |
| 23.05.2012 | Roads: tolling |
| This note outlines the policies of successive governments towards the introduction of tolling on the UK road network. It also provides information on tolled undertakings such as the Dartford Crossing and the M6 Toll Road, and on European legislation that affects the installation and use of tolls. | |
| 21.05.2012 | Roads: charging in London |
| This note provides information on the two road charging schemes that exist in central London: the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) and the Congestion Charge. | |
| 26.04.2012 | Planning and Parking |
| This note deals with the issue of how much parking space is required in new development. | |
| 03.04.2012 | Local transport governance and finance in England, 2010- |
| This note explains the structures and reform of local transport governance and finance in England following the 2010 General Election. | |
| 01.03.2012 | Roads: Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) |
| This note describes the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL), a policy introduced by the Labour Government that enables local authorities to charge businesses for every employee who parks in the area. It outlines the policy of successive governments and provides information on the only scheme currently in place, in Nottingham. | |
| 07.02.2012 | Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) |
| Trans-European Networks (TENs) are infrastructure networks in transport, energy and telecommunications. This note is only concerned with the transport networks (TEN-T). It gives information on the background to the scheme, its financial aspects; the priority projects it supports; and the European Commission's plans for reform. | |
| 19.01.2012 | Focus on road casualties: Social Indicators article |
| A summary of trends in road casualties and breath tests to 2010. | |
| 27.06.2011 | Roads: Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) |
| This note explains what Traffic Regulation Orders are, how they are made and the various uses to which they can be put. | |
| 18.05.2011 | Driving: UK requirements |
| This note provides information on the driver and vehicle requirements in the UK for foreign drivers and imported vehicles. | |
| 05.05.2011 | Transport: Wales |
| This note gives details of the overal legislative position pertaining to transport in Wales and provides a guide to the Assembly Government's transport strategy and areas of focus. | |
| 28.03.2011 | Transport: Scotland |
| This note gives details of the reserved areas of transport policy in Scotland and provides links to resources on these and devolved transport matters. | |
| 23.02.2011 | Taxis and private hire vehicles |
| This note covers the licensing arrangements for taxis and private hire vehicles and their drivers and the enforcement of those licences. | |
| 21.01.2011 | Taxation of road fuels: the road fuel escalator (1993-2000) |
| From 1993 to 2000 Conservative and Labour Governments set taxes on road fuels by means of a 'escalator' - a commitment to raise duty rates by a specified percentage each year. This note is a short history of this policy. | |
| 21.01.2011 | Taxation of road fuels: policy following the 'fuel crisis' (2000-2008) |
| This note discusses the 'fuel crisis' of summer 2000, and the Labour Government's approach to taxing road fuels in the following years. | |
| 08.12.2010 | Lorry sizes and weights |
| This note gives details of the current weight limits for goods vehicles in the UK. | |
| 01.12.2010 | Motor vehicles: seat belts and child restraints |
| This note outlines the legislative requirements to fit and wear seat belts in cars, taxis and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). | |
| 19.11.2010 | Roads: compensation for homeowners |
| This note explains the right of homeowners to compensation where they are affected by road works of one type or another. | |
| 19.11.2010 | Roads: traffic noise |
| This Note outlines the various initiatives of successive government and the European Union to properly monitor and reduce road traffic noise and its associated impacts. | |
| 17.11.2010 | Roads: compensation for loss of business from road works |
| This note explains the right of businesses to compensation in the event of loss of trade due to road works. | |
| 04.11.2010 | Roads: traffic reduction |
| This note outlines the targets that successive governments have set to reduce traffic on strategic and local roads. | |
| 02.11.2010 | Roads: highway infrastructure |
| This Note outlines the road building policies of the current and previous governments and explains how the Coalition Government intends to take forward highway schemes in the future. | |
| 28.10.2010 | Local transport governance and finance in England, 1997-2010 |
| This standard note explains the structures and reform of local transport governance and finance in England during the course of the 1997-2010 Labour Government. | |
| 22.10.2010 | Roads: 30 mph repeater signs |
| This note explains the law regarding the use of 30 mph repeater signs in urban areas. | |
| 20.10.2010 | Roads: home zones |
| This Note describes the introduction of home zones. | |
| 18.10.2010 | Roads: unadopted |
| This note explains what unadopted roads are and the problems and issues associated with them. It also explains how highways authorities can 'adopt' such roads and make them public highways. | |
| 13.10.2010 | Roads: traffic calming |
| This note gives information as to the legislative authority for traffic calming measures; the relevant guidance to local authorities on its installation and explains about different types of calming such as road humps, chicanes and so-called 'naked streets'. | |
| 11.08.2010 | Roads: local road charges |
| This note outlines the policies of successive governments towards local road charging. It gives further information on the two schemes proposed in Manchester and Cambridgeshire in 2007-08 that ultimately failed to proceed. | |
| 10.08.2010 | Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), 2005-2010 |
| This note outlines what the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) was, from its inception in 2005 to its demise in 2010. | |
| 10.08.2010 | Roads: national road pricing |
| This note explains the history and theory of road pricing, along with the policies of successive governments. | |
| 13.07.2010 | Parking: enforcement officers |
| This note explains the different responsibilities of civil enforcement officers, traffic wardens and others for enforcing parking restrictions. | |
| 13.07.2010 | Parking: lorries in residential areas |
| This note briefly sets out the law regarding the parking of HGVs on the road. | |
| 12.07.2010 | Parking: pavement and on-street |
| This Note outlines the general legal position on pavement parking and the measures available to the police and local authorities to tackle it. | |
| 16.06.2010 | Roads: pedestrian accidents on the pavement |
| This note describes the duty of the local highway authority to maintain the highway (including, in the definition of that term, pavements) and those defences that an authority can use if a pedestrian is injured on the pavement. | |
| 14.04.2010 | Transport and Works Act 1992 |
| This Note explains why the TWA was introduced and how it works. | |
| 08.03.2010 | Transport: rural areas |
| This note explains the Government's approach to rural transport. | |
| 01.03.2010 | Eddington Transport Study |
| This note sets out the conclusions of the 2006 Eddington study into transport and the economy and subsequent responses to it. | |
| 21.09.2009 | Working time directive and road transport |
| This note explains the rules relating to the applicability, or not, of the Working Time Regulations 1998 in the road transport sector. | |
| 24.08.2009 | Motor vehicles: bull bars |
| This note outlines the proscriptions on bull bars set out in European legislation. | |
| 13.08.2009 | Drivers' hours |
| This note outlines the European and domestic drivers' hours rules and how they are enforced. It does not cover working time rules. | |
| 31.07.2009 | Driving: mobile phones |
| This note outlines the offence of driving while using a mobile phone and the penalties associated with it. | |
| 06.05.2009 | Motor vehicles: registration plates |
| Updated with details of the changes to permit the display of national symbols on number plates, which came into force in April 2009. | |
| 24.04.2009 | Driving: instruction |
| Updated with details of the proposals to reform driving instruction given in the April 2009 report on the responses to the 'Learning to Drive' consultation and Willie Rennie's Private Member's Bill on the immediate removal of instructors from the register in cases of serious misconduct. | |
| 01.10.2008 | Motor vehicles: daytime running lights |
| In September 2008 the European Commission confirmed that daytime running lights would be fitted to all new vehicles from 2011. | |
| 13.07.2004 | Social statistics: Key sources |
| Social statistics: Key sources. By Matthew Whittaker. SN/SG/2206. |
All Research Papers
27 Documents
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 07.01.2013 | HGV Road User Levy Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| This Bill would provide for the introduction of an HGV road user levy from April 2014. | |
| 29.10.2012 | HGV Road User Levy Bill |
| This Bill would provide for the introduction of an HGV road user levy from April 2014. | |
| 19.01.2012 | Social Indicators |
| A compendium of the latest social statistics. This edition includes articles: Religion in Great Britain, and Focus on road casualties | |
| 22.08.2011 | London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill: Committee stage report |
| This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill and has been prepared for the Report and Third Reading of the Bill, scheduled for 8 September 2011. It supplements Research Paper 11/34, prepared for the Second Reading of the Bill in the Commons on 28 April 2011. | |
| 02.03.2011 | Transport policy in 2011: a new direction? |
| This paper outlines the changes made to transport policy by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government and looks at some of the long term transport challenges the government is likely to face over the course of this Parliament. | |
| 19.03.2010 | Transport Policy in 2010: a rough guide |
| This paper gives an overview of transport policy in the UK in 2010. It examines a range of issues related to transport policy, including policy-makers, spending on and sources of funding for transport, the transport policy of the main political parties, and the challenges in formulating transport policy in 2010. | |
| 31.07.2008 | The Road Haulage Industry : costs and taxes |
| The Road Haulage Industry : costs and taxes. House of Commons Library Research Paper 08/68 | |
| 21.04.2008 | Transport in London |
| Transport in London. House of Commons Library Research Paper 08/36 | |
| 07.03.2008 | Planning Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| (Bill 71 of 2007-08) | |
| 06.12.2007 | Planning Bill |
| 28.02.2007 | Off-Road Vehicles (Registration) Bill [Bill 21 of 2006-07] |
| 02.03.2006 | Road Safety Bill (Bill 113 of 2005-06) |
| Road Safety Bill (Bill 113 of 2005-06). House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/13 | |
| 04.01.2005 | Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill (Bill 11 of 2004/05) |
| The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill (Bill 11 of 2004/05). House of Commons Library Research Paper 05/01. | |
| 14.12.2004 | Road Safety Bill (Bill 10 of 2004/05) |
| Road Safety Bill (Bill 10 of 2004/05). House of Commons Libary Research Paper 04/91. | |
| 25.10.2004 | School Transport Bill (Bill 162 of 2003/04) |
| School Transport Bill. (Bill 162 of 2003/04). House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/78. | |
| 23.12.2003 | Traffic Management Bill (Bill 13 2003/04) |
| Traffic Management Bill (Bill 13 2003/04). House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/92. | |
| 06.05.2003 | Social indicators |
| Social indicators. (Includes article on Higher education applications and topical subject pages on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and London congestion charge). House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/40. | |
| 28.03.2003 | Crime (International Co-operation) Bill (HL) (Bill 78 of 2002/03) |
| The Crime (International Co-operation) Bill (HL). (Bill 78 of 2002/03). House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/30. | |
| 11.05.2001 | Road fuel prices and taxation |
| Road fuel prices and taxation. House of Commons Library Research Paper 01/52 (updates 00/69) | |
| 07.02.2001 | Road Transport (Bill 11 of 2000/01) |
| The Road Transport Bill (Bill 12 of 2000/01). House of Commons Library Research Paper 01/15. | |
| 15.12.2000 | Vehicles (Crime) Bill (Bill 1 2000/01) |
| The Vehicles (Crime) Bill. (Bill 1 of 2000/01). House of Commons Library Research Paper 00/95. | |
| 12.07.2000 | Road fuel prices and taxation |
| Road fuel prices and taxation. House of Commons Library Research Paper 00/69. | |
| 13.12.1999 | Transport Bill (Bill 8 1999/2000) |
| The Transport Bill: Part II: local transport plans and buses (Bill 8 of 1999/2000). House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/103. | |
| 13.12.1999 | Transport Bill (Bill 8 1999/2000) |
| The Transport Bill: Part III: road charging and workplace parking (Bill 8 of 1999/2000). House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/104. | |
| 19.04.1999 | The road haulage industry: costs and taxes April 1999 |
| The road haulage industry: costs and taxes. House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/42. | |
| 10.12.1998 | Greater London Authority Bill: Transport Aspects (Bill 7 1998/99) |
| The Greater London Authority Bill: Transport Aspects (Bill 7 of 1998/99). House of Commons Library Research Paper 98/116. | |
| 28.01.1998 | Traffic congestion (including the Road Traffic (United Kingdom Targets) Bill 1997/98) |
| Traffic congestion (including the Road Traffic Reduction (United Kingdom Targets) Bill) (Bill 11 1997/98). House of Commons Library Research Paper 98/16. |
