Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, has warned that if politicians don’t start facing up the problems of grid-lock and congestion on British roads soon, then it will be the next generation of drivers who will suffer. In a report he argues that the only sensible solution to dealing with the growing number of cars on the road is by introducing a pay-as-you-go toll.

Professor Glaister claims that a by-the-mile road tax is the inevitable solution to congestion problems because there is no credible alternative. The RAC reports claims that the number of cars on the roads will have risen by around 33 per cent by the year 2025.

The proposal adds that with an introduction of the new taxation should come reductions on car tax and fuel duty. There would also be a system in place to compensate those who pay the tax and get stuck in traffic anyway.

A spokesman for the Transport Department has confirmed that there are no plans at present to introduce such a pay-as-you-go scheme. He added that many of the roads in the UK had already been paid for by the British taxpayer and that it might be a little unfair to start charging them again to use them.

Association of British Drivers, London regional spokesman, Roger Lawson, said that they would continue to oppose professor Glaister’s road pricing policies, because they believe that the poorest sector of the driving population would be hit hardest by their implementation.