2006 DfT Road Stats

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Fri 27 Jul 2007 12:56
2006 DfT Road Stats - Honestjohn
(DFT) Road Statistics 2006: Traffic, speeds, and congestion

The Department for Transport has today published the statistical bulletin Road Statistics 2006: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion. This bulletin includes the first release of National Statistics on 2006 Road Traffic in Great Britain and the 2006 Urban-Areas Speed Survey. The bulletin also includes further information on Free-Flow Vehicle Speeds (first results were published in April), historic inter-urban speed survey results and experimental congestion statistics.

The bulletin provides a detailed breakdown of statistics related to traffic, speeds and congestion. Key results include:

Road Traffic in Great Britain

* Between 2005 and 2006, estimated traffic levels rose by 7 billion vehicle kilometres (1.4 per cent) to 506 billion vehicle kilometres. This is the first year that total estimated traffic in Great Britain has exceeded 500 billion vehicle kilometres.

* Car traffic (402.4 billion vehicle kilometres) accounted for 79 per cent of all motor vehicle traffic. Car traffic has increased by 1.3 per cent over the past year, 12 per cent since 1996 and 851 per cent since 1955.

* Light van traffic has shown the greatest growth in recent years, increasing by 39 per cent since 1996.

* Pedal cycle traffic was estimated to be 4.6 billion vehicle kilometres in 2006, an increase of 5 per cent from 2005.

* In 2006, 28 per cent of all traffic was on rural 'A' roads, 22 per cent was on urban minor roads, 20 per cent on motorways, 16 per cent on urban 'A' roads and 14 per cent on rural minor roads.

* Traffic on motorways has grown faster (27 per cent) over the last ten years than on any other road type. Urban 'A' roads have shown the slowest traffic growth since 1996, increasing by only 2 per cent over this time.

* Overall, traffic was higher on weekdays than at weekends; the highest level of traffic occurs on Friday and the lowest on Sunday.

Free Flow Vehicle Speeds in Great Britain

* The average free flow speed of cars in 2006 on 40 mph limit roads was 36 mph and on roads with a 30 mph limit the average speed was 30 mph.

* The percentage of vehicles that exceed the speed limit on 30 mph roads has fallen over the last 10 years. The proportion of cars exceeding the speed limit in 1996 was almost three quarters; in 2006 this figure had fallen to a half.

Congestion and Traffic Speeds on the Inter-Urban Road Network

* Average vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys, used to measure the DfT PSA 1 target, has risen from 3.78 to 4.11 minutes per 10 miles between the baseline year (August 2004 - July 2005) and the latest year (May 2006 - April 2007), an increase of 8.7 per cent.

* This is equivalent to average journey time on the slowest 10% of journeys having risen from 13.4 to 13.7 minutes per 10 miles, an increase of 2.5 per cent.

* During the morning peak, the average vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys generally declined as the week progressed. The opposite effect occurred for the evening peak.

* The highest evening peak delays on weekdays for the slowest 10% of journeys were experienced on Fridays. By 14:00 on Fridays, congestion is at about the same level as in the morning peak on Wednesdays.

Congestion and Traffic Speeds in English Urban Areas

* The average traffic speed across the major road network of the largest 18 urban areas in England, excluding London, in 2006 was 17.8 mph during the peak periods and 21.6 mph during off-peak periods.

* Like-for-like peak speed across all these areas in 2006 was virtually unchanged from 2004. Average off-peak speed fell from 25.2 mph in 2004 to 24.1 mph in 2006, a fall of 4 per cent.

* Of the 18 largest urban areas in England, excluding London, average peak speeds were lowest in Leicester, Bristol and Southampton. Off-peak speeds were also low in Leicester and Bristol, with Blackpool also having a relatively low average off-peak speed.

Notes to Editors

1. The annual bulletin, Road Statistics 2006: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion, brings together statistics that in previous years had been published in four separate reports. The DfT titles that have been replaced are:

* Road Traffic Statistics (annual bulletin)

* Vehicle Speeds in Great Britain

* Traffic Speeds in English Urban Areas

* Traffic Speeds on English Trunk Roads.

Road Traffic in Great Britain

2. The figures that relate to traffic are measured in terms of vehicle kilometres; this is sometimes known as the volume of traffic. This is not the same as congestion. For example, traffic levels might show an increase but at the same time congestion levels may decline. This could happen if, for example, there is more traffic overall but it is more evenly spread during the day, with less during peak periods and more at other times. Congestion has a number of consequences, such as causing delays and making journey times unreliable.

3. The road traffic estimates are calculated from data collected by some 190 Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) and 10,000 12-hour manual counts per annum, combined with road lengths. The 190 ATCs are also the source of the free-flow vehicle speed data.

Free Flow Vehicle Speeds in Great Britain

4. Data for this survey are collated from 36 sites where a 30 or 40 mph limit applies and at 60 other sites. The sites have been selected so that speeds are not seriously constrained by road layout, traffic congestion or by the proximity of speed cameras. The speeds are recorded as vehicles pass over an automatic counter and do not represent speeds over a longer distance. They do however provide an indication of compliance with speed limits.

5. Outside built-up areas, the normal speed limits currently in force are as follows:

Motorway Dual C/way Single C/way

Cars and Motorcycles 70 70 60

Buses and Coaches 70 60 50

HGVs (>7.5 tonnes) 60 50 40

6. None of the survey sites in built-up areas were subject to a speed limit lower than 30 mph.

7. Free Flow Vehicle Speeds in Great Britain - 2006 free-flow speeds data was first published, as a statistical release only, in April 2007.

Congestion and Traffic Speeds on the Inter-Urban Road Network

8. The Department has a Public Service Agreement (PSA 1) target to make journeys more reliable on the Strategic Road Network. Data on progress with the inter-urban PSA measure have previously only been published in the Departmental Annual Report (DAR) and Autumn Performance Report and in less detail.

Congestion and Traffic Speeds in English Urban Areas

9. Between May and November 2006, the Department for Transport ran the sixth in a series of traffic speed surveys for urban areas in England; the first was conducted in 1993. The survey covered major roads in the 18 large towns, cities and conurbations in England with populations greater than 250 thousand (excluding London). The key results are based on data collected on weekdays, outside school holidays.

10. The 18 urban areas in England (excluding London) that are studied in the urban-areas speed survey are West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Leeds/Bradford, Tyneside, Merseyside, Sheffield, Bristol, Nottingham, Leicester, Stoke/Newcastle-under-Lyme, Teeside, Hull, Bournemouth/Poole, Brighton/Hove, Plymouth, Southampton, Blackpool and Portsmouth.

11. The bulletin Road Statistics 2006: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion is available from DfT, SR2, Zone 3/17, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DR (Tel: 020 7944 3095). The bulletin will be available for viewing at the following address:

www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublicatio.../

12. Updated (2006) estimates of road lengths and traffic by local authority will be available on the DfT website in the autumn.

Press Enquires: 020 7944 3066

Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292

Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300

Department for Transport Website: www.dft.gov.uk
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