Motorway madness... could Man United be sponsors of the M6?

FOOTBALL clubs, supermarkets and technology firms could be encouraged to sponsor motorways to generate funds for investment in roads.

The sale of naming rights for major roads proposed by AA president Edmund King could lead to the Manchester United M6, the Morrisons M1, the Microsoft M4 and the Adidas A1.

A US-style ‘adopt-a-highway’ scheme should be considered for local roads, whereby businesses help pay for litter collections in return for roadside advertising, Mr King suggested.

The ideas are part of his proposal to change the way people are charged for driving in the UK. Currently, motorists pay some of the highest taxes in Europe to use a road network that in many places is congested and deteriorating.

The Road Miles concept, created by Mr King and his business analyst wife Deirdre, would offer drivers at least 3,000 free miles a year, with a small charge for further distances, in a bid to reduce non-essential journeys.

It is one of five shortlisted entries for the £250,000 Wolfson economics prize to reduce traffic jams.

Car drivers in the first year would pay less than 1p a mile and there would be concessions for those living in the remotest areas and the disabled.

A nationwide lottery and an auction of extra miles would be used to keep the scheme’s costs down.

The proposal would result in fuel duty dropping from 58p a litre to 47p within five years, and more than £3billion in extra investment for roads could be generated.

Mr King said the scheme would be ‘miles better, fairer, greener, safer’.

He added: ‘Drivers fed up with cones, congestion and chaos will be compensated for delays.’