London motorists have learned to be philosophical about the things that delay their passage from A to B.

Roadworks, box junctions, bendy buses, the school run, they all conspire to confound a driver's desire for an uninterrupted journey.

But from next year, the justification for arriving late may be a more glamorous.

The Guardian has learned that three government departments are discussing a legal amendment that would clarify the process by which the authorities can close roads to enable film-makers to shoot their movies on London's streets.

At the moment, although closures do occur, there is no specific legal justification that sanctions the closure of roads for filming. Under the 1984 Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act, roads can be closed for "entertainment events", but there is no particular mention of film.

Officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Transport are talking about the introduction of a "regulatory reform order" which would make statutory provision for closing roads for the purpose of filming across the country.

But if that does not come to pass, officials from the Association of London Government, the umbrella group for the capital's 33 local authorities, and the agency Film London are hoping to address the issue by having an item inserted into the forthcoming London local authorities bill.

Officials from Film London leave for Los Angeles next week hoping to lure more Hollywood film-makers to London, and Andy Cole, the director of communications at Film London, said the amended regulations might help. "It is the sort of thing that comes up at production meetings. They ask 'can you shut the road?" and we want to be able to say 'yes, absolutely'."

At present, various crews spend 10,000 shooting days in London of which only 30 call for road closures. "We don't envisage more road closures, but when they occur, we always try to manage traffic through the city," said Mr Cole. "When it happens it is generally at weekends or in the City when it is quiet."

Film-makers can already achieve a great deal without causing gridlock.

Scenes from the film 28 Days Later were shot at Parliament Square and Waterloo Bridge without sealing off any roads. But a road was closed in Hackney recently to film a Nike ad now showing in Australia and New Zealand.

Londoners are relatively inexperienced in these matters but officials believe they will catch up. "We are trying to show residents that film is important and something that is fun," said Mr Cole. We hope they will be excited by the idea of having Tom Cruise filming at the end of their road."