UK road traffic is worse than ever ~ station of gear

New figures by the Department for Transport show UK road users cover 314.6 billion miles annually with an average rush-hour speed of 23.8mph

2015-08-14 11:35

It's official, drivers are facing more traffic than ever on UK roads. A new report from the Department for Transport (DfT) estimates yearly gross mileage for all UK traffic has peaked at 314.6 billion miles. These are the highest annual traffic numbers ever recorded, and the total amounts to over 33 round trips to Pluto from Earth.

The figures – measured between June 2014 and June 2015 – show traffic has increased by 2.3 per cent in the year, and has surged above the pre-recession heyday for UK road traffic. Though with traffic come delays, and the average speed during morning peak hours is estimated at 23.8mph on major roads across the country – though cities like London drop the number down to just 15mph.

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The DfT believe the surge in the UK economy and the fall in fuel prices have contributed to more and more people buying cars and opting to drive: “The upward trend in traffic volumes is likely to reflect growth in the UK economy. GDP rose by 2.6 per cent in the year ending June 2015.

“Lower fuel prices may also have contributed to increased traffic. The retail price of premium unleaded in the year ending June 2015 was on average 12.6 pence per litre cheaper than in the previous year.”

Van drivers are seen to benefit the most from the strong economic growth, with van traffic showing the highest yearly rise – 6.3 per cent from 2014 accounting to 46.3 billion miles driven. Cars and taxis account to over 245 billion road miles a year – representing a 1.7 per cent increase from the previous year.

Year	Total road miles (billions)	Percentage change
2005	306.7
2006	308.5	0.6%
2007	313.4	1.6%
2008	314.1	0.2%
2009	308.6	-1.8%
2010	306.1	-0.8%
2011	302.7	-1.1%
2012	303.2	0.2%
2013	302.5	-0.2%
2014	307.5	1.7%
2015	314.6	2.3%

Do you think traffic now is worse than ever? Let off some steam in the comments section below...

Martin Saarinen

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