Our roads in Britain are some of the most congested in the world
According to a new study carried out by traffic analysts Inrix, motorists in the UK spend around 32 hours a year sitting in traffic and our roads here in Britain are some of the most congested in the world.
The UK sits behind countries such as Brazil and Russia as being one of the most congested places to drive through but despite this, our capital is still the second most congested city on the continent – in 2016, drivers in London spent around 73 hours stuck in traffic.
Motorists in the UK spend around 32 hours a year sitting in traffic © Copyright Jaggery and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
However, the congestion levels in London dropped quite considerably last year, from 101 hours on average to 73 hours. Across the country, however, it’s a different story, with drivers spending on average around two hours more stuck in traffic compared to the previous year, up from 30 hours to 32.
The second most congested city in the UK was Manchester, where motorists spend 39 hours on average sitting in traffic.
Third on the list was Aberdeen, with drivers spending around 35 hours sat in a queue.
As part of the study, Inrix examined 87 cities and larger urban areas across the UK. After analysing all the data, they discovered that for all motorists, the total cost from wasting time, fuel and productivity as a result of sitting in queues amounted to £30.8 billion last year alone, working out to around £968 per driver.
For commuters in London, total congestion costs per driver in 2016 was £1,911. As for motorists in Manchester, the cost was £1,136 and slightly higher in Aberdeen at £1,331.
The reason Aberdeen’s congestions costs for drivers is greater than for those in Manchester is down to the fact that a higher proportion of driving in Aberdeen is thought to occur during peak congestion hours.
“The cost of this congestion is staggering, stripping the economy of billions, impacting businesses and costing consumers dearly. To tackle this problem, we must consider bold options such as remote working, wider use of road user charging and investment in big data to create more effective and intelligent transportation systems,” said Graham Cookson, Chief Economist at Inrix.
According to the Department for Transport (DfT), a further £1.3 billion has been promised to help relieve congestion across the country and for relevant upgrades to be implemented, to make sure that our roads remain fit for purpose going forward.
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