The policy gap
What exists, and what is missing
| Engine standard | Infrastructure standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Exists | Missing |
| What it measures | Pollutant emissions per kilometre under test conditions | Energy kept as useful motion across a road network |
| What it regulates | Combustion, exhaust treatment, fuel injection | Junction design, crossing geometry, how often traffic is stopped |
| How it is enforced | Type approval: no approval, no sale | Not yet defined |
| Years in operation | Over 30, from Euro 1 to Euro 7 | None |
| Result | Large cuts in NOx and particulates | A gain no vehicle technology can deliver alone |
The proposed standard: an infrastructure efficiency rating. A network-level measure of how much energy put into a road system is kept as useful forward motion, across all vehicle types. Networks that force frequent stops would score poorly; networks designed for continuous flow would score well. It is based on physics, independent of powertrain, and measurable today with existing sensors.
If Europe can set a standard for how cleanly fuel burns, it can set one for how often we force vehicles to waste it.
A call to action
Five things a government can do now
None of these needs a capital commitment. They need only the recognition that an infrastructure efficiency gap exists.
- Commission a baselineMeasure, for the first time, how much vehicle energy is lost to forced stops across the national road network.
- Define momentum-preserving designAsk transport agencies to set a technical definition that future standards and new designs can be assessed against.
- Designate pilotsLet councils name pilot sites where free-flow junctions can be built and measured, generating the evidence a standard needs.
- Add it to climate targetsClimate and transport plans focus almost entirely on electrification. A measurable infrastructure efficiency target adds what no vehicle can deliver.
- Work with UmpirealWe have the physics, the patent application and the business model. We are asking for the conditions in which free-flow junctions can be tested, scaled and standardised.
How many times on a single journey should we choose to destroy momentum through forced stops? Zero.