In data that has been supplied by traffic information supplier Inrix, it has been suggested that UK drivers will spend 31 hours each year in traffic on average. Being stuck in gridlock for so long is costing motorists £1,168 because of the amount of time and fuel that is wasted - higher freighting fees has to be calculated into this sum as well.
RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis reflected: “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.
"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."
Another possible solution to solving gridlock Britain has been suggested from Vindis though. In this article, the Audi dealership considers how drivers can reduce the chance that they get caught in a traffic jam by knowing the times and the places which is particularly bad for congestion…
Where is the worst places for traffic jams throughout the UK?
It’s a rather obvious statement to say that you’re very likely to get caught up in at least one traffic jam if you complete a commute around 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.
However, London isn’t the only city across Britain to witness waiting times that clock up into double figures. 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.
City centres throughout the UK aren’t just especially bad for traffic jams either. In fact, 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:
1. A406 Northbound, Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane, London. Drivers can expect to lose 73 hours per year on this route.
2. A2 Eastbound, New Cross Gate to Prince Charles Road, London. Drivers can expect to lose 62 hours per year on this route.
3. A3211 Eastbound, Westminster Bridge to London Bridge, London. Drivers can expect to lose 57 hours per year on this route.
4. A102 Northbound, A2/Kidbrooke to Blackwall Tunnel, London. Drivers can expect to lose 51 hours per year on this route.
5. A4200 Southbound, Russell Square to Aldwych, London. Drivers can expect to lose 50 hours per year on this route.
6. A1 Southbound, College Gardens to Wallace Park, Belfast. Drivers can expect to lose 49 hours per year on this route.
7. A308 Eastbound, Putney Bridge Approach to Sloane Square, London. Drivers can expect to lose 46 hours per year on this route.
8. A431 Westbound, Bryants Hill to Lawrence Hill, Bristol. Drivers can expect to lose 45 hours per year on this route.
9. A24 Northbound, Ormeau Road to Ann Street, Belfast. Drivers can expect to lose 45 hours per year on this route.
10. A6 Northbound, Macclesfield Road to Heaton Lane, Manchester. Drivers can expect to lose 44 hours per year on this route.
When are the worst times for traffic jams throughout the UK?
If you’re able to, refrain from driving during the rush hour and choose to complete your journey at a quieter time of the day or week instead. 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.
A total of 72 minutes can be added to a journey completed around Cambridge in the rush hour when compared to the identical route being taken during the quietest time of the week. This saw the city take top spot in the study, followed by Leeds (51 extra minutes) and Manchester (47 additional minutes). The full top 10 is as follows:
1. Cambridge - 72 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
2. Leeds - 51 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
3. Manchester - 47 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
4. Sheffield - 46 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
5. Edinburgh - 45 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
6. Birmingham - 43 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
7. Bristol - 43 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
8. Cardiff - 41 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
9. Aberdeen - 38 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
10. London - 38 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Rush hour traffic jams which are particularly bad aren’t just found in city centres though. Major roads which may not be situated in urban areas should also be factored into this. Once more, Admiral is on hand as they conducted research to find the UK’s most congested routes.
The UK’s most congested route according to this study was the commute from Dartford to Trafalgar Square around London. Motorists can expect a staggering 225 percent 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 percent increase throughout the morning rush hour.
If you take out the routes based in London from the research, how does the study look? The most congested routes throughout the UK become Chepstow to Cabot Circus in Bristol (a 200 percent increase in driving time during the morning rush hour), Halton to St George’s Hall in Liverpool (a 192 percent jump in driving time throughout the morning rush hour), and Washington to the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle (a 192 percent hike in driving time in the morning rush hour).
The Motor Product Manager at Admiral, 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.”
What about seasonal traffic jams?
Traffic across the UK will also rise significantly depending on what time of the year it is. 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 22nd 2017, 1.59 million on Saturday December 23rd, 1.87 million on Christmas Eve and a huge 5.3 million on Boxing Day.
During the initial couple of weeks of the 2017 school holidays, the RAC also pointed out to motorists that they should factor in extra time for any journeys they would be completing 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.
It’s a rather obvious statement to say that you’re very likely to get caught up in at least one traffic jam if you complete a commute around 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.
However, London isn’t the only city across Britain to witness waiting times that clock up into double figures. 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.
City centres throughout the UK aren’t just especially bad for traffic jams either. In fact, 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:
1. A406 Northbound, Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane, London. Drivers can expect to lose 73 hours per year on this route.
2. A2 Eastbound, New Cross Gate to Prince Charles Road, London. Drivers can expect to lose 62 hours per year on this route.
3. A3211 Eastbound, Westminster Bridge to London Bridge, London. Drivers can expect to lose 57 hours per year on this route.
4. A102 Northbound, A2/Kidbrooke to Blackwall Tunnel, London. Drivers can expect to lose 51 hours per year on this route.
5. A4200 Southbound, Russell Square to Aldwych, London. Drivers can expect to lose 50 hours per year on this route.
6. A1 Southbound, College Gardens to Wallace Park, Belfast. Drivers can expect to lose 49 hours per year on this route.
7. A308 Eastbound, Putney Bridge Approach to Sloane Square, London. Drivers can expect to lose 46 hours per year on this route.
8. A431 Westbound, Bryants Hill to Lawrence Hill, Bristol. Drivers can expect to lose 45 hours per year on this route.
9. A24 Northbound, Ormeau Road to Ann Street, Belfast. Drivers can expect to lose 45 hours per year on this route.
10. A6 Northbound, Macclesfield Road to Heaton Lane, Manchester. Drivers can expect to lose 44 hours per year on this route.
When are the worst times for traffic jams throughout the UK?
If you’re able to, refrain from driving during the rush hour and choose to complete your journey at a quieter time of the day or week instead. 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.
A total of 72 minutes can be added to a journey completed around Cambridge in the rush hour when compared to the identical route being taken during the quietest time of the week. This saw the city take top spot in the study, followed by Leeds (51 extra minutes) and Manchester (47 additional minutes). The full top 10 is as follows:
1. Cambridge - 72 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
2. Leeds - 51 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
3. Manchester - 47 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
4. Sheffield - 46 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
5. Edinburgh - 45 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
6. Birmingham - 43 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
7. Bristol - 43 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
8. Cardiff - 41 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
9. Aberdeen - 38 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
10. London - 38 extra minutes for a rush hour journey.
Rush hour traffic jams which are particularly bad aren’t just found in city centres though. Major roads which may not be situated in urban areas should also be factored into this. Once more, Admiral is on hand as they conducted research to find the UK’s most congested routes.
The UK’s most congested route according to this study was the commute from Dartford to Trafalgar Square around London. Motorists can expect a staggering 225 percent 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 percent increase throughout the morning rush hour.
If you take out the routes based in London from the research, how does the study look? The most congested routes throughout the UK become Chepstow to Cabot Circus in Bristol (a 200 percent increase in driving time during the morning rush hour), Halton to St George’s Hall in Liverpool (a 192 percent jump in driving time throughout the morning rush hour), and Washington to the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle (a 192 percent hike in driving time in the morning rush hour).
The Motor Product Manager at Admiral, 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.”
What about seasonal traffic jams?
Traffic across the UK will also rise significantly depending on what time of the year it is. 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 22nd 2017, 1.59 million on Saturday December 23rd, 1.87 million on Christmas Eve and a huge 5.3 million on Boxing Day.
During the initial couple of weeks of the 2017 school holidays, the RAC also pointed out to motorists that they should factor in extra time for any journeys they would be completing 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.
