Highways Voices: Talking Roads and Transport Technology innovation

Hosted by Paul Hutton

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200

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Aug 2026

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About the show

The Highways Voices podcast is a must-listen for professionals in the Highways and Transport Technology industries covering construction, maintenance, Intelligent Transport Systems and Public Transportation. Presented by leading journalists Paul Hutton and Adrian Tatum, you’ll hear industry leaders sharing insights you won’t hear anywhere else, giving you a taste of the latest thinking about the sector's new techniques and technologies, collaborations and innovations. All in the time it takes for an average daily commute (or dog walk!). We bring you keynote-speaker quality guests into your phone or laptop, ensuring every time you listen you’ll learn something new you can use in your day-to-day job. Plus, you'll catch up with the top stories from the daily newsletters sent by Highways-News.com and hear the latest from our podcast partners LCRIG, the TTF, ADEPT and ITS UK.

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60 recent

August 11, 202617 min

Peter Hitchens questions transport orthodoxy as countdown begins to September debate with Rory Sutherland

Highways Voices continues its summer series of archive editions this week with a conversation that remains as thought-provoking today as when it was first recorded five years ago.Journalist, author and Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens joins the podcast to challenge conventional thinking on transport policy, from electric scooters and electric vehicles to the UK's long-term reliance on the private car.Originally recorded in 2021 as e-scooter trials were being introduced across Britain, the interview explores far more than the merits of the vehicles themselves. Mr Hitchens argues that transport policy has become too focused on road travel and questions whether technologies promoted as environmentally friendly always deliver the benefits claimed for them. He also discusses the future of public transport, walking and cycling, while setting out his vision for a transport system built around railways and trams rather than private cars.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.Throughout the discussion, Mr Hitchens questions the environmental credentials of battery-powered mobility, raises concerns about safety and enforcement surrounding e-scooters, and argues that policymakers should fundamentally rethink Britain's transport priorities. The interview offers a perspective that continues to resonate as many of the same issues remain at the centre of transport policy in 2026.The episode follows last week's archive edition featuring advertising executive and behavioural scientist Rory Sutherland's keynote speech at the JCT Traffic Signals Symposium. Together, the two programmes provide a fascinating insight into how two of Britain's best-known commentators approach transport from very different angles – one through the lens of behavioural science, the other through politics, history and public policy.They're also the perfect introduction to a special Highways Voices series coming in September, when both Peter Hitchens and Rory Sutherland return to debate many of the biggest questions facing transport today, offering contrasting perspectives on mobility, behaviour, public policy and how Britain should tackle the challenges of moving people and goods in the decades ahead.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

August 4, 202615 min

Could psychology solve transport problems that engineering can't? Rory Sutherland asks the provocative questions

As Highways Voices continues its summer series of archive editions, this week's podcast revisits one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking presentations ever delivered at the JCT Traffic Signals Symposium.Advertising executive, behavioural scientist and author Rory Sutherland challenges transport professionals to stop thinking purely like engineers and economists and instead consider how psychology shapes the way people use, and react to, our transport networks.In an extract from his 2023 keynote, Rory Sutherland argues that many of the industry's biggest challenges are not technical problems at all, but behavioural ones. Drawing on examples ranging from road pricing and smart motorways to electric vehicles, queueing, rail travel and even airport security, he explains why the way an idea is presented can be just as important as the idea itself. Whether discussing "range anxiety" versus "infrastructure anxiety", or why people hate uncertainty more than waiting, he makes the case that understanding human behaviour could unlock improvements worth billions of pounds.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.The talk is packed with memorable examples, including why Uber's moving map transformed the taxi experience without making cars arrive any faster, how an app could improve rail capacity before new infrastructure is built, and why smart motorways suffer because motorists notice the problems but never see the traffic jams that have been prevented. Throughout, he argues that transport innovation should bring together psychologists, marketers, engineers and economists from the very start, rather than treating behavioural science as an afterthought.It's a keynote that's as entertaining as it is challenging, with Rory Sutherland's trademark wit prompting you to question many of the assumptions that underpin transport policy and investment. Whether you agree with every conclusion or not, it's a fascinating reminder that changing behaviour can sometimes be more powerful than changing infrastructure.The full keynote is available here, while this week's podcast features a specially edited selection of the highlights. It also marks the first part of a special double-header featuring two of Britain's best-known public thinkers.Next week, Highways Voices revisits an archive interview with journalist and author Peter Hitchens, ahead of a brand-new series of conversations launching in September, when Hitchens and Sutherland will each return to the podcast to debate with each other. Together, they'll explore transport, public policy, behaviour and society from two very different perspectives – making this summer's archive episodes the perfect introduction to what's coming next.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

July 28, 202614 min

Cutting through the carbon confusion – who really owns net zero in highways?

With pressure on local authorities to demonstrate meaningful progress towards net zero, today’s Highways Voices moves beyond the jargon and tackles one of the biggest challenges facing highways teams: who is actually responsible for reducing carbon, and where do you start?First published a year ago, our guest, Zoe Sterling-Wall, who at the time was working with Brightly, explains how Carbon Literacy is about far more than awareness, it's about giving organisations the confidence to make informed decisions, create realistic carbon reduction plans and embed lasting behavioural change. Through practical examples, she discusses how highways authorities can work more effectively with contractors, break down silos across departments and ensure carbon reduction becomes a shared responsibility rather than a tick-box exercise.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.As when we first published this episode, you'll hear how carbon literacy training can simplify decision-making, empower action across entire highway networks and help local authorities embed sustainability into everyday operations. But listening again a year later also provides a useful reminder that while technology continues to evolve, success still depends on collaboration, leadership and giving people the knowledge to act with confidence.Highways Voices returns with brand-new episodes after our summer break.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

July 21, 202622 min

From being told you're unemployable to becoming an award-winning transport planner

Most Highways Voices episodes explore innovation, leadership and technology. This one explores something even more powerful: the determination of one remarkable woman who refused to let life tell her "no".In one of the most moving and inspirational conversations we've ever recorded, transport planner Lynsey Michell Turner shares her extraordinary journey from a childhood dominated by severe epilepsy, an abusive home life and repeated discrimination to building a successful career in the highways sector. She reveals how schools failed her, why employers repeatedly turned her away and how she was even advised to hide her disability to find work.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.Rather than giving up, Lynsey fought back. Through evening classes, apprenticeships and sheer persistence, she carved out a career in transport planning, earning recognition from both ITS UK and the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation along the way.As well as an incredibly personal story, the episode carries an important message for employers across the highways industry. Lynsey explains why organisations should think differently about apprenticeships, neurodiversity and disability, arguing that with the right support they can unlock exceptional talent.If you've ever wondered what resilience really looks like, this is a podcast you won't forget.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

July 14, 202632 min

Behind the barriers: Examining safety solutions at CRASH 26

This week’s Highways Voices comes from CRASH 26, an event which brought together road safety professionals, local authorities, suppliers and infrastructure specialists for a day of live demonstrations showing what really happens when vehicles collide with roadside equipment.The event gives delegates the opportunity to see products perform in realistic scenarios while discussing how the lessons learned can improve future road design and safety.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.In this podcast, organiser Andy Pledge explains how the event has gone from showcasing passive safety products into promoting the wider Safe System approach, bringing together experts from across road safety, emergency services, traffic management and industry to encourage better-informed decision making.You can watch the crashes here.We hear from Magnus Backholm of Swedish manufacturer Jerol, Neil Levett representing Multipatcher, Olly Samways of Westcotec, Ash Starkey from AS Safety and Technology, Ian McDonald from Hydro and Peter Hoban from Innovative Road Safety Solutions, each demonstrating products designed to reduce the consequences of road traffic collisions or improve the safety of those working on or alongside the highway.The conversations cover everything from passive-safe signposts and rapidly deployable crash barriers to remotely managed roadside technology, inflatable work zone protection systems, passive-safe lighting columns and innovative products that combine environmental benefits with practical roadside infrastructure.Together the interviews provide a fascinating snapshot of how innovation is helping move the industry closer to Vision Zero, demonstrating that improving road safety isn't simply about developing better products, it's about sharing knowledge, understanding real-world performance and ensuring everyone involved in designing, maintaining and operating the road network has the information they need to make safer decisions.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

July 7, 202625 min

The engineering behind potholes – and an idea to pay for fixing them

Civil engineer Elizabeth Orchard believes Britain has been looking at the potholes crisis the wrong way – and in this edition of Highways Voices she explains why – and finishes with an interesting idea to fund the solution.Rather than focusing on political arguments over who is to blame, she explores the engineering behind deteriorating roads, from freeze-thaw cycles and aging infrastructure to the impact of changing weather patterns, utility works and decades of underinvestment.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.Drawing on her experience as a Chartered Civil Engineer and founder of consultancy Endelevu, in conversation with Paul Hutton, Mrs Orchard tackles some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding road maintenance. She explains why heavier electric vehicles are not the villain many people assume, why simply resurfacing a road often fails to solve the problem, and why maintenance strategies need to be tailored to local conditions rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.The discussion also examines the pressures facing local authorities, from shrinking engineering teams to the challenge of maintaining thousands of miles of highway with limited resources. Mrs Orchard argues that rebuilding technical expertise within councils could save money in the long term while creating more resilient highway networks.Perhaps the most thought-provoking section comes towards the end of the conversation, when she suggests Britain should stop treating roads as a financial liability and start viewing them as valuable assets capable of generating income through the intelligent use of data. She points to examples from Europe where anonymised vehicle and infrastructure data are already helping to fund maintenance and improve network management."There are solutions, and there are ways of making money - other people in the rest of the world are already doing it [and] it's time Britain catches up," she explains, arguing that a smarter approach to highway data could transform how roads are maintained for decades to come.This episode offers a refreshing perspective on one of the UK's most talked-about infrastructure challenges. Rather than simply discussing potholes, it explores the engineering, economics and innovation that could provide lasting answers, making it essential listening for anyone interested in the future of Britain's roads.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

June 30, 202635 min

Innovation moves from pilot to practice at LCRIG Festival

This week’s Highways Voices podcast takes you from connected vehicle data that's finally moving beyond endless pilot projects to artificial intelligence that can identify road defects before they become a problem, as we bring you chat from the LCRIG Innovation and Learning Festival, where the latest ideas aren’t just being talked about – they’re being put into practice.Host Paul Hutton catches up with some of the sector's leading thinkers and innovators, including White Willow Consulting’s Andy Graham explaining why connected vehicle technology has reached the point where authorities can simply get on and use it, Nicander’s Sam Brierley demonstrating how AI is transforming highway asset management, and Steve Walton revealing how Via East Midlands is preparing to deliver a huge maintenance programmes.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.There's also a first for the podcast as Paul interviews Luka the robot, while leading industry consultant Neil Levett highlights the technologies that caught his eye around the festival. Anna Blake and Christopher Long from Solar Gates explain how smarter temporary traffic management is reducing costs, cutting carbon and improving safety, and Jordan Cowley looks ahead to the huge opportunities presented by the ITS World Congress Birmingham 2027.It's a programme packed with practical examples of how technology is making highways safer, more efficient and better connected – and why the conversations taking place at events like this are helping to shape the future of our industry.Our guests:Andy Graham, White Willow ConsultingSam Brierley, NicanderLuka, RobotNeil Levett, Levett Business Services chatting with Highways News's Libby McMahonSteve Walton, Via East MidlandsAnna Blake and Christopher Long, Solar GatesJordan Cowley, Transport for West MidlandsAlso don’t forget to check out the winners of the 2026 DfT Special Recognition Apprentice Awards, as mentioned by Paul in the podcast.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

June 23, 202631 min

Collaboration, innovation and funding challenges under the spotlight from the SWARCO User Group

How can the highways sector deliver innovation faster while navigating tight budgets, procurement hurdles and increasing demands on road networks? That's the question explored in the latest episode of the Highways Voices podcast, recorded at SWARCO's User Group meeting in Coventry last week.Host Paul Hutton is joined by Derek McLean, Head of Product and Solutions at SWARCO, his colleague, SWARCO’s Urban Systems Manager Andrea Newman, Richard Ling, Head of Parking and Traffic Management at Cambridgeshire County Council, and Peter Eccleson, Managing Director of smartmicro UK. Together they discuss how the industry's growing focus on collaboration is helping suppliers, local authorities and technology partners tackle common challenges and deliver better outcomes for road users.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.The panel examines the ongoing difficulties surrounding revenue funding, procurement regulations and asset renewal, while also highlighting opportunities created by emerging technologies. Richard Ling explains how authorities can make the case for investment by focusing on long-term savings, while Peter Eccleson argues that the sector must become quicker at embracing innovations that can improve network management and unlock the value of data.The discussion also explores how suppliers are responding to changing customer expectations. Derek McLean and Andrea Newman describe how SWARCO is working more closely with customers and partners to develop solutions that integrate with existing infrastructure, making it easier for authorities to adopt new technologies without major capital expenditure.Looking ahead, the conversation turns to artificial intelligence, data-driven decision making and the need for an industry-wide approach to innovation. Despite the challenges, all four guests strike an optimistic tone, arguing that stronger collaboration, open communication and a shared focus on solving customer problems are creating plenty of reasons to be positive about the future of highways and traffic management. Listen to the full episode now on Highways Voices.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

June 16, 202644 min

Rennicks at 50: Learning about five decades of innovation and resilience

Road safety and intelligent transport solutions specialist Rennicks is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and this Highways Voices podcast marks the milestone, featuring Rennicks Chairman Michael Flanagan and Director Robert Tait.Mr Flanagan reflects on the company's journey from its origins in Ireland in the mid-1970s to becoming a recognised name in traffic signs, vehicle registration plate systems and intelligent transport technologies. He recounts how founders Robin and Maureen Rennicks identified an opportunity in reflective materials before expanding into traffic signage and eventually the wider road safety market.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.The podcast also explores some of the biggest challenges the company has faced, including a patent dispute that temporarily removed a key product line and threatened a significant proportion of the business. We hear how the setback forced Rennicks to diversify and innovate, helping lay the foundations for future growth.Looking to the future, Mr Tait discusses the growing role of intelligent transport systems, connected vehicle technologies and data-driven solutions. He highlights the opportunities presented by the government's RIS3 investment programme and the move towards digitally enabled road networks, while explaining how Rennicks is developing technology-led products to meet emerging customer needs.Throughout the discussion, Mr Flanagan returns to the themes that have underpinned Rennicks' success over the past five decades: putting customers first, investing in people and maintaining the agility to adapt to changing markets. As the company looks ahead to its next chapter, the podcast provides a fascinating insight into the growth of one of the UK's longest-established road safety businesses.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.

June 9, 202634 min

Starling Technologies: A candid post-mortem on innovation in transport

What happens when you have the right idea at the right time… but still fail?In this thought-provoking episode of Highways Voices, Paul Hutton sits down with Andrew Caleya Chetty, founder of Starling Technologies, for a candid conversation about innovation, ambition, and the harsh realities of bringing new technology into the transport sector.Less than two years ago, Starling Technologies was generating excitement with its vision for smarter, more responsive traffic management. The company appeared perfectly positioned to help local authorities harness the power of AI and machine learning to improve network performance. Yet despite strong interest in the technology and a clear market need, the business ultimately closed its doors.Subscribe to Highways Voices on your favourite podcast platform and never miss an episode.So, what went wrong?Andrew shares the deeply personal story behind Starling’s rise and fall, revealing why success in the intelligent transport sector requires far more than great technology. He discusses the challenges of lengthy procurement cycles, delayed project delivery, uncertain funding streams, and the difficulties of sustaining a start-up while waiting for opportunities to convert into contracts.But this is about much more than one company’s story.The conversation explores the wider barriers facing innovation across transport and asks some difficult questions. If the industry wants to benefit from rapid advances in AI, data analytics and digital services, are current procurement and funding models fit for purpose? How can local authorities and suppliers work together to create an environment where innovators can thrive rather than struggle to survive?Despite the disappointment, Andrew remains remarkably optimistic about the future and passionate about creating better, more efficient cities through technology.Whether you're a local authority leader, technology supplier, consultant or anyone interested in the future of transport innovation, this episode offers valuable lessons, honest reflections and important insights into how the sector can avoid losing the next generation of game-changing ideas.Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.