NCJ Number
130125
Journal
Journal of Law and Society Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: special issue (Spring 1991) Pages: 126-134
Date Published
1991
Length
9 pages
Annotation
More environmentally sensitive road traffic and construction policies in the United Kingdom are needed, and new laws and the enforcement of existing laws may be useful elements of alternative transport policy development.
Abstract
The road construction program in the United Kingdom and road traffic forecasts have potentially severe environmental consequences. Road traffic is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases and accounts for 18 percent of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, 45 percent of nitrogen oxides, 28 percent of hydrocarbons, and 85 percent of carbon monoxide. Other pollution problems caused by motor vehicles are smog and the impact of road construction on wildlife habitats. Roads attract new car-based development, thus suburbanizing the countryside in the process. Alternatives to vehicles have become less attractive, in part because walking and cycling have become more dangerous. Railways have suffered as an alternative transport mode due to consistent underfunding. In the near-term, transport and land use planning can be used to reduce the need to travel, by locating developments and new facilities so that people can reach them easily on foot, bicycle, or public transport. Transport taxation and regulation must be reformed, speed limits can be imposed to reduce accidents and pollution, and vehicle maintenance and road operating regulations can reduce pollution. In general, public transport must be drastically improved; it must be viewed and planned as a whole network rather than a series of individual services. Law has a role to play in traffic regulation and in safeguarding environmental and community interests.