Skip to main content

RAC: over half of drivers believe congestion has worsened on UK major roads

56% of 1,727 drivers questioned in an annual survey believe that congestion has worsened on UK major roads, which carries 65% of all traffic, despite them comprising only 13% of the country’s road network. The findings from the survey have been presented by the RAC’s Report on Motoring.
November 2, 2017 Read time: 4 mins
56% of 1,727 drivers questioned in an annual survey believe that congestion has worsened on UK major roads, which carries 65% of all traffic, despite them comprising only 13% of the country’s road network. The findings from the survey have been presented by the RAC’s Report on Motoring.


On motorways, 61% of motorists think that congestion has got worse and that journey times have worsened in the last 12 months, which alone carries 21% of traffic despite accounting for 1% of UK roads. 27% of this figure claim that the change has been considerable. In addition, 58% of motorists believe that high-speed dual carriageways and urban A-roads have become more congested. Rural single carriageway A-roads, however, had only 45% of drivers who stated that congestion had worsened.

Motoring concerns have also been highlighted which showed 11% of business drivers identifying slower journey times as their number-one concern. This concern is also cited by 8% of non-business drivers along with traffic congestion, making it the fifth highest ranked issue in the survey. Other concerns showed illegal use of handheld mobile phones at the wheel (16%), condition and maintenance of local roads (10%) and the cost of fuel (9%). 8% of motorists has also cited the cost of insurance.

Government statistics support these concerns as road traffic estimates for 2016 show motorists drove 252.6bn vehicle miles, an increase of 2.2% on the previous year and is the highest annual car traffic estimate ever.

A general increase in traffic volume has largely been blamed for causing the increase in urban congestion, reasons given for greater motorway traffic included major roadworks (47%), middle-lane hogging drivers (45%) and lorries overtaking other lorries (40%).

48% of the 61% of drivers who believe motorway congestion has worsened think that there should be tighter controls on lorries overtaking other lorries.

Aside from major roads, 55% of respondents think that urban B roads and unclassified urban roads have become busier and have less reliable journey times. However, 58% of drivers stated that traffic levels remain the same on country B-roads and unclassified country roads while 32% said that they had increased.

Among urban drivers, 29% blamed bus lanes as the primary cause for congestion in towns and cities, with 68% of this figure who think that bus lanes should be allowed to be used by vehicles at certain times. In addition, 16% of drivers blamed cycle lanes as the main cause of congestion with 54% of this figure who believe that cyclists should be compelled to use such lanes where they are available.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley said: “With unwelcome evidence of increased congestion, it is essential that the schemes to increase capacity of the strategic road network which form part of the first Road Investment Strategy are delivered to plan. The recent news from 8101 Highways England that some projects have been delayed is therefore very unwelcome. And with work well advanced on development of the second Road Investment Strategy which will be implemented from 2020/21, it is vital that proposals are included to debottleneck the most congested stretches of the network which were not included in the first Road Investment Strategy.

Responding to the report, Cllr Martin Tett, Local Government Association transport spokesman, said: “This survey highlights the congestion challenge we face as a nation. Congestion can have a significant impact on our towns, cities and communities, and act as a drag on local growth. Worse still, it can lead to toxic air and reduced quality of life.

“The average motorist is spending a working week every year sat in traffic on major roads, and losing almost a £1,000 in the process. With eight-and-a-half million more vehicles on our roads since 2000, it’s no wonder it would now take £12 billion and a decade to clear the nation’s road repair backlog.

“Councils are working hard to combat traffic and congestion but need to be able to do more to tackle this growing problem. Long-term, consistent funding is needed for them to invest in local roads and introduce attractive alternatives to car journeys, such as through public transport, walking and cycling.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Network Rail launches digital strategy to improve travel experience
    May 14, 2018
    Network Rail will carry out a digital railway strategy to help ensure that all new UK trains and signalling are digital or digital ready from 2019. The upgrade is aimed at improving the speed, punctuality and safety of the service. New digital rail technology will be utilised with the intention of allowing trains to run closer together and provide more frequent services. In addition, passengers are expected to be provided with improved mobile and WiFi connectivity. Train drivers will receive real-time
  • ITS advancement lays beyond benefit-cost analysis
    May 29, 2013
    Shelley Row, former Director of the US Department of Transportation’s ITS Joint Program Office, gives her views on the way forward for the industry. We, as intelligent transportation system (ITS) proponents and engineers, tend to be overly fixated on benefit-cost data. We want decisions to be made on logical grounds for which benefit-cost calculations are optimal. While benefit-cost data is necessary, it is not always sufficient. We can learn from our history where we see three broad groups of ITS deploymen
  • Solving Detroit’s jams: just ask a Michigan student
    October 17, 2019
    At the Institute of Transportation Engineers annual meeting, a clever student plan to reduce commute times in Detroit suggests the future of the ITS industry is in good hands, write Pete Spiller and Jarrod Cady A team of students from the University of Michigan won a national student Transportation Technology Tournament - sponsored by the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) and the US Department of Transportation - with a compelling presentation on reducing congestion. In an impressive d
  • When caring about sharing is good business for US automakers
    October 28, 2015
    Although car-sharing and ride-sharing could drastically reduce car sales, David Crawford finds some US automakers are keen to participate in the sharing economy. Growing consumer interest in car- and ride-sharing, as opposed to outright ownership, and ride-sharer Uber’s recently stated intention to make its brand competitive with ownership on cost, are making the major US automotive manufacturers think seriously about their future sales prospects. Some have already begun exploring ways of entering the field