THE man who once accused car-driving commuters of being guilty of an 'inappropriate use of road space' has been made Britain’s new traffic congestion czar.

Derek Turner will take over as the Highways Agency’s national traffic director from next month.

Turner's opinion have car drivers hasn't mellowed. He believes roads should be the preserve of traffic of 'economic importance' such as lorries.

'A lot of the problem is to do with people joining the motorway at one junction and coming straight off at the next junction. These are strategic roads, designed for longer-distance traffic,' he said.

One method of encouraging car drivers to spurn motorways that is being considered by Turner is to have more traffic lights on slip roads. 'If people can’t get on to the motorway so easily they will probably choose to use totally acceptable trunk roads,' he said. Critics fear that this will just move congestion to smaller local roads.

Other jam-busting measures planned by Turner include turning the motorway hard shoulder into a traffic lane at peak times, imposing variable speed limits and using improved signs and information. Trials of these measures are due to begin on the M42 near Birmingham this summer.