Especially in the UK, motoring is extremely political. The TV show Top Gear was politically formative fir a lot of people here. Smart motorways are unpopular b

Especially in the UK, motoring is extremely political. The TV show Top Gear was politically formative fir a lot of people here. Smart motorways are unpopular because they typically include a lot of speed enforcement cameras and lower speed limits, so you can no longer zig zag through traffic at 90 miles an hour. Thus, smart motorways, pollution enforcement zones, and neighbourhood traffic charging schemes are very controversial. The same people who got exercised about face masks will cross the country to protest them. These people are the base of the current government, which needs a culture war as the real issues look unwinnable right now so the civil service are under pressure to find a reason to roll this stuff back.