Car Insurance
Car pool lanes to be introduced
Wed, 15 Mar 2006
Sections of the expanded M1 near Luton will be the first to include a car pool lane in the UK.
Widening work begins next week which will enable traffic carrying one or more passengers to travel on a specially designated lane.
The government hopes that this will encourage more people to regularly share journeys, reducing pressure on the nation's crowded roads.
"Car pool lanes have an important role to play in making best use of road space, as well as helping the environment and reducing congestion," transport secretary Alistair Darling told the Times.
But the plans have come under criticism from the RAC Foundation, whose director Edmund King pointed to a similar project in California which according to a recent report, has actually increased congestion.
"If the M1 experiment adds to congestion due to the under-utilisation experienced in the US, then the car pool lane should become a regular motorway lane," Mr King said.
The ten-mile, four-lane section is due to be completed in December 2008, when the car pool lane will be introduced at peak hours.
Figures from the Department of Transport predict that congestion is set to rise by 20 per cent in the UK by 2010, making accidents more likely and quality motor insurance cover, with cheap car insurance deals easily found on the internet, all the more important for British drivers.
© Adfero Ltd
