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With his cabinet now in place the RAC believes there are many important motoring issues the Government needs to address.

While local road maintenance is the responsibility of local authorities, successive Governments have announced additional funding through various Treasury funds, including the pothole fund.

But none have got to grips with the problem, with RAC data showing drivers are still more likely to break down from hitting a pothole today than they were 15 years ago.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “Potholes not only cause expensive damage to vehicles, they are also a road safety menace for those on bicycles or motorcycles. With the backlog of repairs needed to bring the UK’s pothole-riddled roads running into billions, it’s clear we need to take a more strategic approach to them both at a local and at a UK Government level. We believe that councils need ringfenced money in the form of a small proportion of fuel duty receipts, over a five-year period, to enable them to bring our local roads up to a reasonable standard.”

Fuel duty was reduced by 5p to 52.95p a litre in the Spring Statement to soften the impact of rising prices at the pumps. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is also conducting a review of retail fuel pricing.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “So far, 2022 has been a bleak year for drivers with fuel prices breaking records on a daily basis earlier in the summer. While prices have fallen since then, they are still high by historical standards with many of the biggest petrol retailers not fairly reflecting the drop in wholesale fuel costs at the pumps. We urge the new Government to cut duty further to reduce pump prices for drivers and help slow inflation.”

Reports in Spring 2022 suggested the Government might change the MOT test from every year to every two years as part of measures to ease the cost of living.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “Our research shows drivers are not in favour of changing the MOT from yearly to every two years. An MOT pass ensures peace of mind that a vehicle, at least at that point, is safe to drive. We would strongly urge the Government to ditch plans to change the MOT test to every two years, otherwise we could end up with an alarming number of dangerous vehicles on the road that will undermine road safety, result in more expensive repairs and very likely push up the cost of car insurance premiums.”

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Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans must end in 2030, with hybrids following in 2035. In Spring 2022, the Government published its electric vehicle infrastructure strategy with a view to having 300,000 public chargers by 2030. New homes should be built with EV chargers, and new rapid public chargers must now take contactless payments.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “With 2030 now clearly set as the date for the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans, momentum in the switch to electric vehicles is building – a point demonstrated by the fact sales of new EVs remain robust despite the challenges faced by manufacturers due to the chip shortage. Although good finance leasing deals can help, it is the case that the price of many new EVs is still prohibitively high for a lot of people, with most drivers keen to see more financial help from the Government to bring costs down. Alongside this, it is vital charging infrastructure is simple, reliable and plentiful.”

During the summer 2022 Conservative leadership campaign, Rishi Sunak said he would ban new smart motorways. Previous Transport Secretary Grant Shapps paused the roll-out of future ‘all lane running’ smart motorway schemes in January 2022 while more years of data could be analysed.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “Research from the RAC suggests that smart motorways where the hard shoulder is permanently removed are deeply unpopular with widespread concerns about safety. However, we cannot simply scrap new projects without alternatives otherwise our motorway network risks becoming heavily congested in the years to come. The new Government should look at other smart motorway options such as ‘dynamic hard shoulder’ schemes where the hard shoulder is only opened to traffic for short periods at peak times. These types of motorways are already in use on some sections of the network and have a good safety record with many years of data behind them.”

In summer 2022, the Government postponed its plans to publish an updated road safety statement. Alongside this, no decision has yet been taken (as of 28 October 2022) as to whether new driver assistance safety systems – such as intelligent speed assist and autonomous emergency braking – which are being mandated across the EU, will be required to be installed on new vehicles sold in the UK. Plans to rollout out technology to see if drivers are using handheld mobile phones on motorways were announced in summer 2022.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “By international standards, the UK’s roads are among the safest in the world. However, in recent years progress has stalled – collision and fatality numbers are no longer falling – which is why we are urging the Government to act to bring these figures down. We strongly urge the Government to look closely at ways to improve enforcement on our roads while also taking a more holistic approach by focusing on in-vehicle technology which can help prevent avoidable collisions.”

In 2019 the Government introduced the Parking (Code of practice) Act  following a Bill being put forward by Sir Greg Knight MP. After publishing the new draft code, it was withdrawn in June 2022 pending a judicial review. A single appeals system and decisions on the parking charge notice cap are still to be finalised.

RAC head of road policy Nicholas Lyes said: “It has taken years to draw up a code of practice which will deliver a fairer and simpler system for drivers while at the same time cut down on the number of rogue parking operators. The Government must now stand up to those in the private parking sector seeking to resist change and implement the code, the cap and the single appeals system in one fell swoop.”

The Government is aware there is still a significant backlog of people waiting to take practical tests. Additional tests and examiners have been promised to reduce the average waiting time from 14 weeks to nine.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: "Many people learning to drive are doing so in order to earn a living and yet are being held back by delays in taking their practical test. Additionally, we need to ensure the minority of people who have been stopped from driving for medical reason but after assessment have been deemed as fit to drive have their driving licences urgently re-issued."

The EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption regulations expire in 2023. The Competition and Market’s Authority (CMA) has recently submitted its recommendations to the Department for Business on replacing these regulations so consumers are not forced to have repairs carried out by branded main dealerships.

Focus must be on retaining the core elements of the current exemption but also on ensuring breakdown organisations and garages are able to access certain vehicle data and diagnostics ports to diagnose any fault, as well as being able source the right spare parts to fix faults

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “These regulations have kept the aftermarket competitive for many years to the benefit of drivers by allowing them to choose where they get their car repaired or serviced. As we approach the era of increased connectivity within vehicles, it’s vital this continues as it’s a lifeline for many smaller repairers and benefits consumers enormously.”

In September 2022, bus fares are due to be capped, while train fares are set to rise in line with inflation. To encourage active travel, the Government also made changes to the Highway Code in early 2022 and published a cycling and walking strategy in summer 2022. In addition, private e-scooters could soon be legalised if the Government’s Transport Bill is enacted.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes: “The new Transport Secretary takes up his position at a time of both high driving costs and real technological change. Therefore, it would be pragmatic to look at how we might provide cost-conscious drivers with alternatives to short car journeys that are both efficient for their wallets and the environment. However, legalising private e-scooter use must be done carefully to ensure the safety of all road users, particularly the riders themselves and pedestrians.”

With fuel duty revenues set to decline as more zero-tailpipe emission vehicles come on to our roads, the Government has yet to publish a formal position on a replacement system.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “There is an air of inevitability that fuel duty receipts will begin to decline significantly as drivers switch en masse to electric vehicles. If the Government wants to ensure it has a simple and fair taxation system in place for this, the planning needs to start as soon as possible.”

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