The Government is seeking views as to whether it should allow authorities to determine what technology they wish to deploy and whether more asset infrastructure condition should be collected.

Release of the survey follows publication of the Government’s response last month to a Transport Select Committee report into local roads funding and maintenance.

The Department for Transport points out that surface condition of local roads in England is measured using SCANNER technology, but there are other technologies that are starting to emerge which can monitor and measure road condition.

It says that the survey is the first step in a review of what technology is required going forward. It adds that ‘open and honest views’ are welcome so that central and local government and communities ‘get data that is meaningful to them’.

The survey contains 35 questions. One asks what methods have been or intend to be used to measure carriageway surface condition during the current financial year. Respondents are also asked what percentage of their highway networks are covered each time a survey is run, if they keep a count of the number of potholes, where they get this data from and what definition of a pothole they use.

The survey also seeks to determine the level of knowledge about technologies other than SCANNER to monitor road carriageway condition, and what the industry sees as the benefits and shortfalls of the different technologies.

Crucially, the survey asks for views as to whether the Department for Transport should prescribe one technology for collecting data about carriageway condition.

Road condition monitoring specialist Gaist’s managing director Paula Claytonsmith, who gave evidence to the Transport Select Committee’s local roads funding inquiry, said: “I welcome what DfT are doing with this survey and applaud their work to fairly understand what council and society's needs are going forward.”

She added that the rise of technology is accelerating and providing ever richer data to give engineers and highways managers the right tools to make decisions. “Different data demands in councils and finding better ways to explain transparently to the public about priorities are going to move apace too.

“Massive changes in local government finance will also inevitably impact some services more than others, which will mean there has to be careful data and spending considerations. Multiple uses of blended data will need to become the defacto as it does in our daily lives.”

To take part in the survey, visit www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RoadConditionDataTech/