Reliability and resilience of the UK road network

  • Britain’s roads are becoming increasingly busy. Road traffi c from all motor vehicles increased (in terms of vehicle kilometres travelled) by 15 per cent between 1996 and 2006

Cars and taxis dominate traffi c on the roads, comprising 80 per cent of total vehicle kilometres. Lgvs make up six per cent and sgvs 13 per cent (excluding buses and coaches)

The majority of lgv miles are carried out on motorways and major roads refl ecting long distance movement of heavy goods. Patterns of van traffi c are more similar to that of cars and taxis, refl ecting the provision of personal services and home deliveries.

 
Vans
Lgvs
Cars and taxis
Motorway
18%
42%
18%
All major roads
42%
46%
45%
All minor roads
40%
12%
37%
  • Motorway use is heavily infl uenced by the patterns of UK trade and population density. The heaviest motorway traffi c is in the East Midlands (95,000 vehicles per day) followed by South East England and London at 92,500 and 92,600 respectively
  • Motorway use is heavily influenced by the patterns of UK trade and population density. The heaviest motorway traffic is in the East Midlands (95,000 vehicles per day) followed by South East England and London at 92,500 and 92,600 respectively
  • Most road congestion is caused by volume of traffi c (65%) followed by acciddents (25%) and roadwoarks (10%)

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