The city of Oxford has announced they will ban petrol and diesel cars from its city centre from 2020 onwards in the latest round of air quality plans.

It’ll be the first city in the UK to introduce such a ban, going way beyond London’s Congestion Charge and upcoming T-Charge for high-polluting diesel cars.

The ban has been put in place to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels in the city’s worst pollution blackspot, George Street. The band will reduce the nitrogen dioxide by 74%, returning it to natural levels of pollution.

The plan hasn’t yet been given the all clear and will face a six-week public consultation. Traditionally, Oxford is an environmentally aware city, so the proposal is expected to face much less competition than London’s T-Charge.

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The plan is for the zero-emission to evolve every five years. After the initial launch in 2020, the city will extend the area in 2025 and 2030 and by 2035 non-zero-emission HGVs will also be banned from the area.

Oxford city councillor, John Tanner has said: “Everyone who uses Oxford centre has the right to breathe clean air. I would urge everyone who uses Oxford city centre to take part in the consultation. We need to know, in detail, what people’s needs are so that we can plan a zero-emission zone that minimises the impact on business and residents while maximising impact on the city’s health.”

Local bus operators within the city have expressed their support for the scheme, with Stagecoach and the Oxford Bus company both investing heavily in electrified buses recently.

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The government have announced that small convoys of partially self-driving lorries will be tested on major British roads by the end of 2018.

A contract has been handed out to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out the tests of vehicle ‘platoons’.

As many as three lorries will travel in formation, with the lead vehicle controlling the speed, acceleration and braking. In the platoons, the lead vehicle will be controlled by a human driver, with the rest of the convoy being connected wirelessly. The following vehicles will be instructed to accelerate and brake by the lead vehicle, which will allow the lorries to drive closer together than they could if the platoon was controlled by human drivers.

But there have been some safety concerns from the AA.

How do they work?

Lorries driving closer together should reduce the amount of air resistance for the following vehicles, providing that the front lorry pushes air out of the way. This could then lead to fuel efficiency savings for haulage companies, which Transport Minister Paul Maynard hopes will be passed on to consumers.

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With the following vehicles being connected wirelessly, it would allow the vehicles to react more quickly if the lead lorry was to quickly brake, quicker than human drivers would be able to, not only does this allow the lorries to drive closer together but it will also hopefully reduce the chances of potential accidents.

Whilst the lorries in convoy will react to acceleration and braking on their own, a human driver is needed to steer the lorries in the platoon.

The TRL will begin trials of the technology on test tracks, but these trials are expected to move to major roads by the end of next year.

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According to the latest FTA figures that have been released today, over 79% of ladies are eager to get behind the wheel of a lorry, and there is a rise in younger women wanting to take driving up as a career choice.

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The Freight Transport Association (FTA) carried out a poll on social media, asking women whether they would be willing to drive a 44-tonne truck, as currently, less than one percent of truckers are female. The results of the poll came back showing that 79 per cent of women would be prepared to drive a 44-tonne truck. As a result, the FTA are now exploring why more women aren’t coming into the industry.

Currently, in the UK there are around 315,000 registered truck drivers, but only 2,200 of those are female. Having said that, recent statistics are indicating a gender balance, and younger women wanting enter the profession is improving with 15 percent aged between 21 and 25.

Sally Gilson, FTA Skills Policy Development Manager says: “These figures are encouraging as it is essential that more women are recruited – currently only one per cent of HGV drivers in the UK are female.

“We believe that one of the biggest barriers for would-be truck drivers is the cost of gaining a licence and training – around £3,000.  FTA has been calling on Government to provide a suitable loan system.  The current Personal Career Development Loan option is not appropriate and a simple change to allow Level 2 qualifications to be included in the 19+ loan would provide the quickest and best solution.”

Solving the current shortfall of over 45,000 HGV drivers is a major campaign for the FTA, an issue that has been recognised in a Transport Select Committee report which quoted FTA evidence reflecting difficulties logistics operators face in recruiting drivers.

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The FTA Logistics Report 2016 shows that more than 64% of truck drivers are over the age of 45 – the average as has steadily increased over the last 15 years, and it continues to do so. Filling vacancies is getting harder and harder. This has been compounded in recent years by the consequence of economic growth and the huge rise in e-commerce. Lack of funding for vocational training for drivers means fewer are joining the industry and there is a real risk that the shortage of HGV drivers could devilry impact the economy.

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The civil enalties scheme is to be reviewed by the government. The scheme raised £6.6m in fines last year, punishing truck drivers who were carrying illegal immigrants. The plans to improve the scheme have been welcomed by the FTA

The government are working with the freight industry in order to put a stop to illegal immigration and the FTA is pleased to see that. Currently, HGV drivers that are caught with illegal immigrants on-board their vehicles are fined up to £2,000 per person. In the summer of 2015, it was estimated that around 40 illegal immigrants were entering Dover a day.

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The Home Office has said that it will now use the civil penalty to improve the behaviours of the careless and the reckless. The civil penalty regime will be strengthened so that the codes of practices underline the need for all drivers to show that they have the correct security measures – with potential penalties if they don’t.

When speaking about the plans to improve the civil penalties scheme, the FTA’s Manager of Road Freight Enforcement, Chris Yarsley, had this to say:

“FTA is pleased to see the Government working with our industry in an effort to try and combat illegal immigration. Following the mass migration in to the EU over the past year we welcome the opportunity to revise the charging regime so that it incentivises operators to better secure their vehicles and could offer possible benefits for those who go further than the required minimum.”

He continued:

“The levels of penalties have not been amended for over 10 years and vehicle security technologies have improved immensely so it is now time to look at the entirety of the scheme.”

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The FTA have been involved in discussions with the government for some time now and they are in regular contact with the Border Force to try and keep constant communication between both sides.

Last summer, around 40 illegal immigrants were attempting to enter the UK and many of these were from the ‘Jungle Camp’ in Calais. More than 3,600 were picked up by the Home Office between July and September 2015.

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