TSGB 2011: Roads and traffic

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Summary

This chapter of Transport Statistics Great Britain presents statistics on road traffic, traffic forecasts, road lengths, vehicle speeds, congestion and road taxation revenue.

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Key points

In 2010, the overall motor vehicle traffic volume in Great Britain was 1.6 per cent lower than in 2009, at 308.1 billion vehicle miles.
Motor vehicle traffic has fallen for three consecutive years for the first time since records began in 1949. However, traffic levels in 2010 were 6.2 per cent higher than in 2000.
In 2010, motorways and ‘A’ roads accounted for 0.9 per cent and 11.8 per cent respectively of total road length in Great Britain. In contrast, 19.8 per cent of all motor vehicle traffic was on motorways and 44.3 per cent on ‘A’ roads.
Forty nine per cent of cars on motorways were travelling at a speed that exceeded the 70 mph limit.
The average speed achieved on local authority managed ‘A’ roads during the morning peak in 2010/11 was 25.1 mph.
In 2010/11, nearly £5.8 billion was raised through vehicle excise duty (VED), and about £27.3 billion was raised through fuel tax.

Table number	Table name	Alternative number
TSGB0701	Road traffic (vehicle miles) by vehicle type in Great Britain, annual from 1949	TRA0101
TSGB0702	Road traffic (vehicle kilometres) by vehicle type in Great Britain, annual from 1949	TRA0201
TSGB0703	Motor vehicle traffic (vehicle miles) by road class in Great Britain, from 1950 to 1993	TRA0102
TSGB0704	Motor vehicle traffic (vehicle kilometres) by road class in Great Britain, 1950 to 1993	TRA0202
TSGB0705	Road traffic (vehicle miles) by vehicle type and road class in Great Britain, annual	TRA0104
TSGB0706	Road traffic (vehicle kilometres) by vehicle type and road class in Great Britain, annual	TRA0204
TSGB0707	Forecasts of road traffic in England and vehicles in Great Britain	TRA9905
TSGB0708	Road lengths (kilometres) by road type in Great Britain, annual from 1914	RDL0203
TSGB0709	Road lengths (miles) by road type in Great Britain, annual from 1914	RDL0103
TSGB0710	Road lengths (kilometres) by road type and region and country in Great Britain, annual	RDL0201
TSGB0711	Road lengths (miles) by road type and region and country in Great Britain, annual	RDL0101
TSGB0712	Road lengths (kilometres) by road type and local authority in Great Britain, annual	RDL0202
TSGB0713	Road lengths (miles) by road type and local authority in Great Britain, annual	RDL0102
TSGB0714	Vehicle speeds on non-built-up roads by road type and vehicle type in Great Britain	SPE0101
TSGB0715	Vehicle speeds on built-up roads by speed limit and vehicle type in Great Britain	SPE0102
TSGB0716	Average vehicle speeds (flow-weighted) during the weekday morning peak on locally managed ‘A’ roads: by local authority in England, annually from 2006/07	CGN0201
TSGB0717	Regional expenditure on roads	RDE0101
TSGB0718	Road construction tender price index	RDE0102
TSGB0719	Road taxation revenue, United Kingdom	RDE0103
TSGB0720	New road construction and improvement: motorways and all purpose trunk roads	RDE0104

Technical information

Full guidance on the methods used to compile these statistics and their sources can be found in the Transport Statistics Great Britain 2011 Notes and Definitions: