Gridlock Britain

Motorway travel is getting ever more expensive
Image Creds: Stock.xchng

The Daily Express has reported that the UK’s roads are some of the most gridlocked in Europe. This news will be unsurprising but worrying for fleet managers, as delays can be costly to business, both in terms of time, and petrol used.
 

Unsurprisingly London came out as the worst UK City in terms of congestion, with 34.5 per cent of main roads at a crawl during the day. Perhaps one of the more surreal comparisons afforded to the speed of London’s traffic has been the assertion, from Thisislocallondon, that the average speed of traffic in the Capital was the same as a running chicken.
 

Interestingly, the problems seen in London come despite ONS statistics that suggest 43 per cent of Londoners do not have any access to a car.

 

UK Wide Problems   

 

As well as the problems suffered by London, several other UK cities were placed in the top 20 for jams. Surprisingly Edinburgh, despite its relatively small population of less than half a million, was the second most congested UK city at number seven. Manchester took third, in tenth place overall.
 

Outside of the UK, only Brussels and Warsaw were more congested, however it should be noted that France had four cities inside the top ten, with Toulouse, Lyon, Marseille and Paris all scoring poorly.
 

This research makes worrying reading, and LeasePlan would always advise planning routes before travel to help avoid traffic hotspots. To a degree, traffic jams are an inevitable part of a business driver’s day, but efficient driving and better vehicle choice can help mitigate the increased fuel expenditure that is associated with long periods in slow-moving traffic.