How bad has traffic become throughout the UK?

Each year, traffic information supplier Inrix predicts that drivers across the UK will spend on average 31 hours in traffic. When the amount of fuel and time wasted is taking into account, as well as the higher freighting fees that result, all of this traffic is costing motorists £1,168.

“There is no silver bullet to sorting out congestion. Ring-fenced funding for improving England’s major roads from 2021 should help, but there also needs to be an emphasis placed on providing cheap, practical, reliable alternatives to the car — especially in urban areas,” reflected Rod Dennis, a spokesperson at the RAC.

He added: “In the meantime, urban planners should be looking at how we can maximise vehicle flow — looking at traffic light sequencings, reducing the amount of time roadworks are live on roads and seeing what impact reducing road space for vehicles is having on journey times.”

Drivers could also help by knowing when and where they should avoid driving. This research by Vindis, which can give you a helping hand in avoiding more nightmares on the road if you take out a Audi service plan with them, should assist…

Where is traffic particularly bad throughout the UK?

Let’s begin with an obvious fact — you’re likely to find yourself in a traffic jam in you drive through London. According to the earlier mentioned data gathered by Inrix, the UK’s capital is the second most congested city across the whole of Europe, and drivers can face 73 hours each year in traffic.

Waiting times that tally up into double figures isn’t just exclusive to London though. Manchester, Lincoln, Birmingham, Braintree, Aylesbury, Bath, Luton, and Guildford are all English destinations with waiting times between 25 and 40 hours. Motorists in Scotland won’t always have clear roads either, with those in Aberdeen and Edinburgh expected to lose 28 hours a year due to traffic jams at peak times, while in Wales the most congested city — with 24 hours per year of waiting times — is Newport.

Of course, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter a traffic jam when you’re not driving in city centres too. Some of the worst instances of congestion can be found on motorways and major routes on outskirts as drivers complete their commute. Therefore, here’s the UK’s top 10 most congested roads, again gathered by Inrix:

A406 Northbound, Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane, London. Drivers can expect to lose 73 hours per year on this route.
A2 Eastbound, New Cross Gate to Prince Charles Road, London. Drivers can expect to lose 62 hours per year on this route.
A3211 Eastbound, Westminster Bridge to London Bridge, London. Drivers can expect to lose 57 hours per year on this route.
A102 Northbound, A2/Kidbrooke to Blackwall Tunnel, London. Drivers can expect to lose 51 hours per year on this route.
A4200 Southbound, Russell Square to Aldwych, London. Drivers can expect to lose 50 hours per year on this route.
A1 Southbound, College Gardens to Wallace Park, Belfast. Drivers can expect to lose 49 hours per year on this route.
A308 Eastbound, Putney Bridge Approach to Sloane Square, London. Drivers can expect to lose 46 hours per year on this route.
A431 Westbound, Bryants Hill to Lawrence Hill, Bristol. Drivers can expect to lose 45 hours per year on this route.
A24 Northbound, Ormeau Road to Ann Street, Belfast. Drivers can expect to lose 45 hours per year on this route.
A6 Northbound, Macclesfield Road to Heaton Lane, Manchester. Drivers can expect to lose 44 hours per year on this route.

Factoring time into the equation

It goes without saying that, unless you have no alternative, refrain from driving in the rush hour. Highlighting this point is car insurance experts Admiral, which compared the travel time of routes into various major city centres for a 9am arrival on a Monday morning when compared to 9am on a Sunday morning.

In their study, Cambridge came out on top — though with an unwanted title as 72 extra minutes can be added to a rush hour journey when compared to motorists driving along the same route during the quietest time of the week. This was followed by Leeds (51 extra minutes) and Manchester (47 additional minutes). The full top 10 is as follows:

Cambridge — 72 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Leeds — 51 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Manchester — 47 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Sheffield — 46 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Edinburgh — 45 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Birmingham — 43 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Bristol — 43 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Cardiff — 41 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Aberdeen — 38 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
London — 38 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.

Just like when looking at where is bad for traffic jams, time also plays a part in the amount of congestion outside of city centres as well. Admiral is once more on hand to back up this point, as they conducted research to find the UK’s most congested routes. According to their data, the route from Dartford to Trafalgar Square around London is the nation’s most congested route. Motorists can expect a staggering 225 per cent increase in driving time during the morning rush hour along this stretch of road. Romford to Trafalgar Square, again in London, didn’t fare much better, with driving time witnessing a 214 per cent increase throughout the morning rush hour.

What about when London was taken out of the research? The UK’s most congested routes become Chepstow to Cabot Circus in Bristol (a 200 per cent increase in driving time during the morning rush hour), Halton to St George’s Hall in Liverpool (a 192 per cent jump in driving time throughout the morning rush hour), and Washington to the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle (a 192 per cent hike in driving time in the morning rush hour).

Admiral’s Motor Product Manager Jo Cox commented: “The figures do bring home the potential time that could be saved if you travel outside of peak times. If at all possible, consider starting your journey and working day earlier or later. It could mean your time is spent a lot more productively.”

Traffic jams across the seasons

Traffic can also become much worse at various points in the year. Around the 2017 festive break, for instance, following a survey of its drivers the RAC predicted that 1.25 million leisure trips would have been completed on Friday December 22^nd 2017, 1.59 million on Saturday December 23^rd, 1.87 million on Christmas Eve and a huge 5.3 million on Boxing Day.

During the first two week of the 2017 school holidays, the RAC also made drivers aware of the fact they can expect delays if they had to head out on the road. After an analysis of the travel plans of 3,176 motorists, the organisation predicted that they would have been 37 million leisure trips completed in the initial two weeks of the school holidays. This included 2.5 million journeys being made on the Friday that schools closed for the summer, 3.4 million on the Saturday and 2.8 million on the Sunday.

Hopefully the above research will be able to reduce the amount of time you end up in traffic jams, as well as help you become a lot less stressed when you’re behind the wheel.