BETTER driving standards, increasing use of technology and higher taxes for gas-guzzling cars are among the recommendations in a six-point transport plan of action unveiled by Lex Service. The demands are set out in the 1999 Lex Report on Motoring and compiled from interviews with 1,297 British motorists, including 293 company car drivers.

Leading issues which came forward from the interviews formed the basis for essential measures the firm believes are needed from the Government to tackle congestion and pollution while also making sure motorists are given a fair deal. Unveiling the plan at the launch of the 1999 Lex Report on Motoring, Sir Trevor Chinn, chairman of Lex Service, said: 'We work well with the new Government and we believe it is a good listener, but in this instance we plead for it not to listen to us, but to listen to the views of ordinary motorists up and down the country.

'Many are afraid that the white paper on integrated transport goes against the grain of what they feel is fair, which is why we have produced a plan of what we feel is more suited to their modern day wants and needs.'

The lack of evidence of long term planning is attacked in the report, with calls for the Government to let motorists, including the fleet industry, know more clearly what it can expect in the future. A clearer tax system to help companies make long term plans about their fleet policies is also called for and the report demands growing use of modern technology to help keep drivers more informed about road conditions to avoid jams.