Highways Voices: Talking Roads and Transport Technology innovation

“The question isn't whether we can afford to maintain TOPAS, it's whether we can afford to become a nation where every junction is an experiment. Every upgrade is a gamble, and every innovation is incompatible with the last.” What happens to your network when every junction becomes an experiment—and every upgrade a gamble? That's the subject on this Highways Voices. S ubscribe to Highways Voices f...

It's National Apprenticeship Week, and the next generation of our industry's leaders provides the backdrop for this episode of Highways Voices , which focuses on the growing role apprenticeships can play in solving the highways and transport sector’s ongoing skills shortages. Today, host Paul Hutton speaks with Ben Harrison, an apprentice data scientist at National Highways, whose career path is f...

How can today’s highways and transport technology leaders ensure the next generation has the skills, mindset, and support to tackle ageing infrastructure, funding pressures, and fast-moving transport technology? We'll find out today on Highways Voices as we hear from a group of young professionals looking to the past, present and future at a memorial for one of the greats of ITS, Professor John Wo...

Today on Highways Voices we hear how the island of Malta is embracing British technology to transform its transport, as we talk to Kurt Farrugia, the CEO of Transport Malta to find out what happens when uncoordinated road works, political pressure, and emergency recovery collide to lead to the use of a single platform to prevent gridlock. This interview was prompted by TRL's exporter of the year w...

This week on Highways Voices we talk to one of the intelligent transport industry's leading experts about everything from early sat-navs and traffic data collection to the latest in connected vehicles, and how to still be pushing the industry forward after 40 years. Andy Graham MBE is our guest, and we talk about his appearance in the King's New Year Honours, and what it means to him, and then you...

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy sets a target of delivering a 65% reduction in deaths and serious injuries on UK roads by 2035, but and are we prepared to make the tough, and sometimes unpopular, decisions required to get there? In today’s Highways Voices we talk about how to turn an ambitious national road safety strategy into practical, funded, and deliverable action. Our guest is Dr Suzy...

Ever wonder what your trusted journalists really sound like before the edit button saves the day, and what those messy moments reveal about the pressures and pace of our industry? In highways and transport technology, credibility is everything: you’re expected to be polished in public, confident on panels, and precise when you speak to stakeholders. But the reality is far less tidy as you'll hear...

Ever wondered how many “safe, legal” morning-after drivers are actually still impaired, and what that means for road risk on your network? If you’re responsible for safety outcomes, fleet policy, roadside enforcement strategy, or transport technology adoption, this episode lands on a stubborn, current problem: morning-after drink-driving is still a major slice of prosecutions and risk, despite yea...

We’ve seen it before, when the success and failure of a big investment is judged more by public perception than by what the data actually proves, so today on Highways Voices, we look at how to communicate the data, and how to deliver defensible, effective, and publicly trusted solutions, by hearing from someone who does exactly that every day. Our guest is one of the leading experts in the US in d...

We have content from both sides of this vast country, as we include some interviews we couldn’t squeeze into our programmes from the ITS Australia Summit last week, plus head to Perth to look at cutting edge solutions in a really go-ahead state. These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of  TomTom ,  Nicander ,  AGD Systems Australia ,  TraceMark Flow an NGIS Solu...

On the final day of the ITS Australia Summit on Queensland's Gold Coast, Paul Hutton talks to more speakers, exhibitors and thought leaders here on Highways Voices, as we discuss global issues and why the US state of Michigan, the birthplace of the American automotive industry, is represented here to explain how it’s transitioning into a leader in connected, automated and electrified transport. Th...

We’re back on the Gold Coast for Day Two of the ITS Australia Summit, discussing how the future of vehicle safety is moving beyond the vehicle itself thanks to the embracing of C-ITS technologies and how connected data is transforming how roads and emergencies are managed. In today's podcast, Paul Hutton talks to AGD Systems, TRL, TomTom, QUT and more, as they share innovations ranging from pedest...

How will Australia’s most innovative transport leaders use intelligent transport systems, real-time data, automation and cooperative corridors to transform mobility ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games? That's just one of the topics you'll hear about on today's Highways Voices from the ITS Australia Summit on the Gold Coast. These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of  TomTom ,&nbsp...

Highways Voices comes fromAustralia for the next few weeks as we bring you a series of podcasts all about the ITS Australia Summit 2025 in the Gold Coast. These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of TomTom , Nicander , AGD Systems Australia , TraceMark Flow an NGIS Solution , Westcotec and TRL . In todays' podcast, that is interesting whether you’re lucky enough to be heading along,...

You often hear the phrase “safety is our number one priority” in our industry, but today on Highways Voices we hear from people who’re putting money where their mouth is, as we talk Vision Zero in Oxfordshire. As the county hosts a road safety event in Oxford city centre this week , we chat to Andy Ford, Road Safety Manager at Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service and Councillor And...

One of the biggest challenges facing the industry is how to attract talent into highways and transport, so today on Highways Voices we discuss that very issue and hear about a solution that’s there for us to use now, as we talk Skills for Life . This is a government-led campaign that promotes and provides access to funded skills and technical education opportunities for individuals and businesses,...

We gathered so much content from Highways UK this year that we bring you a bonus edition today thanks to Clearway ,  Westcotec ,  Arcadis  and  SWARCO , which, among other things, discusses how AI, digital alerts and smarter infrastructure can reshape road safety, maintenance, and sustainability across the UK’s highways. From AI-powered asset management to digital curb systems...

The Roads and Buses Minister Simon Lightwood MP gave his first major speech in his new role at Highways UK today (Thursday) and you can hear it in full on today's Highways Voices podcast. In today’s podcast, sponsored by  Clearway ,  Westcotec ,  Arcadis  and  SWARCO , he is joined by technology innovators and industry experts who discuss the future of the UK’s road n...

National Highways CEO Nick Harris joins us on today's Highways Voices for a chat about RIS3, road safety and preventative maintenance, among other things, on today's Highways Voices from Highways UK 2025. In today’s podcast, sponsored by  Clearway ,  Westcotec ,  Arcadis  and  SWARCO , you'll hear him outline what RIS3 means for suppliers, and how innovation, safety,...

Every corner of the UK highways sector - from local authorities and major contractors to tech innovators and policymakers – have converged under one roof to shape the future of transport at Highways UK 2025, and Highways Voices is here at the NEC to bring you what’s being talked about. In today’s podcast, sponsored by Clearway , Westcotec , Arcadis and SWARCO , you’ll hear how Highways UK 2025 is...

This week on Highways Voices we talk to both the public and private sector about the challenges facing, and the solutions helping, our industry today. We're at the LCRIG Strictly Highways event in Blackpool to hear fresh insights into how collaboration between local authorities, government, and the supply chain is unlocking new efficiencies and innovation across the UK’s road network. You'll get r...

We make another one of our trips to a leader in our industry to find out more about becoming a successful business on today's Highways Voices, and give you some ideas in your day-to-day job. We're at Westcotec in Norfolk talking talking road safety, too, discussing how the key to reducing road collisions isn’t just tougher enforcement, but smarter technology that educates drivers before crashes ha...

Traffic signals remain the most effective way to manage transport networks in most urban centres, and they take centre stage this week in Leeds at the JCT Traffic Signals Symposium. Today's Highways Voices looks into the latest thinking in the industry, as we learn about SCOOT 8 AI from TRL Software , and how it, and PTV’s Optima, are turning control rooms from reactive to proactive, preventing co...

Today on Highways Voices we feature what we believe to be Lilian Greenwood's last interview as Future of Roads Minister before she moved to the whip's office in the recent government reshuffle. Despite her moving on, it was such a good conversation that we should still share it with you, to give you an idea of current government thinking. S ubscribe to Highways Voices free on  Apple Podcasts,...

How much longer can our industry afford to keep filling potholes instead of preventing them in the first place? In our latest Highways Voices we discuss the situation that is drivers the most - the poor condition of our roads. S ubscribe to Highways Voices free on  Apple Podcasts,   Spotify ,   Amazon Music ,   Google Podcasts   or   Pocket Casts   and never miss...