Congestion levels rising and are set to get worse
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• By 2010 truck drivers will be spending the equivalent of 14 days a year sitting in traffic jams, says a new report.
Congestion levels rose by 5.3% last year, says the Motorway Congestion Index. The quarterly survey is carried out by navigation systems supplier Trafficmaster, which uses 2,500 sensors around the country to monitor the average speed of motorway traffic.
In the fourth quarter of 1996 alone the survey reveals that truck drivers, sales reps and commuters lost 45-million man hours sitting in motorway jams, costing the economy £2.1bn.
Trafficmaster estimates that the average hourly cost of congestion for trucks—which represent a third of motorway traffic—is around £80 an hour in wasted fuel, wear-andtear on vehicles, penalties incurred by late deliveries and absenteeism caused by stress.
The M25 accounts for 40% of the UK's total congestion and DOT statistics disclosed in a parliamentary question earlier this month reveal that many of the country's most congested roads are also in need of urgent maintenance.
According to British Road Federation analysis of the residual-life figures, nearly 30% of London's busiest trunk roads and motorways will need major structural repair within the next four years. A quarter of the Midlands most congested roads will require maintenance work by the year 2000.