Traffic, its impacts and public attitudes - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 56

respect the British Social Attitudes Survey, which poses a similar set of questions on
the same basis each year, is of particular value (accessible at www.britsocat.com).
BSA data from the 1980s revealed growing public concern about the environmental
dangers of road traffic to the extent that new measurements had to be devised to
capture the public mood (Taylor and Brooke 1998). However it was noted that this
concern was 'relatively passive' such that, as candidates for public expenditure, roads
and public transport barely featured at all as against 'core programmes' of health,
education, pensions and law and order.
A question on 'threats to the countryside' saw 'motorways and road-building' rise
from last to second place amongst seven during the decade to 1994 - both a source
and a reflection of the growing controversy on this subject at that time (7.2). The
seriousness with which a range of traffic-related issues was then viewed (in isolation)
is shown in Table 3.2.
A pioneering piece of research on public attitudes to transport policy and the
environment was commissioned in 1995 by the Government in the context of the
'Great Debate' initiated by the then Secretary of State for Transport Dr Mawhinney
(7.7). A particularly interesting feature was its use of a methodology which enabled
respondents' opinions to be recorded before and after being presented with factual
information about transport conditions and about the likely cost and effectiveness of
various policy options (Jones et al. 1996). This highlighted the important distinction
to be made in utilising attitudinal data generally between identifying what members
of the public currently think and what courses of action would address their real
concerns in practice.
In this exercise air pollution and traffic congestion were regarded as very serious
national problems, with road safety being of particular concern to people with young
children. Fewer people regarded these problems as being very serious at the local level
although on average a quarter to a third still placed traffic congestion and air quality in
this category. When presented with traffic projections about a third of all respondents
changed their opinion in regarding transport-related issues as more serious, but the
proportion was higher amongst respondents living in smaller settlements less exposed
to current traffic problems.
Research undertaken a few years later for CfIT (the Commission for Integrated
Transport) found that transport issues headed the public's local concerns (MORI
2001). When asked to identify the main problems in their local area almost 40%
spontaneously listed at least one transport-related issue, with traffic congestion
(mentioned by 14%) being the highest single concern.

Table 3.2 Proportion of respondents viewing a range of traffic impacts as 'very serious for them' in

1995 (source: BSA Survey reported in Taylor and Brook e 1998)

%

Exhaust fumes from traffic in towns and cities 63

Traffic congestion in towns and cities 50

Congestion on motorway 42

Noise from traffic in towns and cities 32

Congestion at popular places in the countryside 22

Increased traffic on country roads 21