The CBI has tabled the idea that motorists should pay tolls or ‘user charges’ on Britain’s roads, with private companies awarded the task of taking care of various motorways. In the CBI’s vision, a public body would be set up to ensure drivers pay a fair price for their road usage.

Similar calls have come from Liberal Democrat and Tory backbenchers, who are aware that the UK’s roads need more investment.

But such moves may well be very unpopular with our breakdown insurance customers and indeed all British drivers, who see only £10 billion of the £48.2 billion they pay in tax being spent on road maintenance and improvement.

According to the CBI, the Highways Agency is facing a £10 billion shortfall.

The situation is not helped by the fact that petrol pump tax revenues are starting to fall because people are investing in much more fuel efficient cars. Such vehicles also enable people to buy cheaper tax discs, reducing Treasury income even further.

While the issue of where more money will come from is far from being resolved, most would agree that additional funding will have to come from somewhere. CBI figures suggest that by 2025, insufficient road capacity will cost the UK economy £22 billion a year.

As the government continues its cost cutting in every area of UK life, it seems the motorist will be increasingly seen as the source of these much needed revenues.