Access to live traffic data including road closures and temporary speed limits is to be mandated for digital satnav systems to help cut journey times for drivers.

Traffic authorities will be required to make data on areas such as road closures available for use in satnavs

The data, which will also include the location of parking spaces, will be required for satnavs to ensure drivers benefit from smoother journeys.

Currently, so-called Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) on areas such as road closures are not automatically updated on digital systems, meaning they are sometimes missing from satnav systems.

Going forward, regulations will require traffic authorities to send their TROs to a new digital publication platform. The data will then be freely available online for anyone to use.

The move is part of the first package of measures from the Government’s Plan for Drivers, announced last autumn and including 30 different actions “to support people’s freedom to use their cars”.

But digitising TROs is also vital to ensure autonomous vehicles can rely on accurate and up-to-date information so that they can operate safely once they start driving on British roads. A clause that delivers this commitment is included in the Automated Vehicles Bill, currently in Parliament.

Roads Minister Guy Opperman said: “This Government is on the side of drivers, which is why we’re making travelling by road much easier. Everyone knows the frustrations of being sent down a closed road by your satnav, so by going digital with our traffic information, we’re making sure that drivers have the very latest travel information to rely on.

“This is part of our first package of measures from our Plan for Drivers, coming after our record £8.3bn investment to resurface local roads – the biggest-ever increase in funding for local road improvements.”

The initial measures from the Plan for Drivers also include proposals to clamp down on traffic jams from roadworks by introducing stiffer fines. These could generate up to £100m extra over the next decade to resurface roads while also tackling congestion.