Skip to main content

Survey reveals congestion on UK roads worst for over ten years

A Freight Transport Association (FTA) survey has revealed that congestion on UK roads is at the worst it has been for over ten years. FTA’s Quarterly Transport Activity Survey (QTAS) illustrated the rate of deterioration in reliability on the road network at 55 per cent, which is the lowest it has been since 2002, due to increased traffic in the run-up to Christmas. The results from the survey of over 100 logistics operators are seen as an indication of the impact of the increase in domestic road freight ac
March 17, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A 6983 Freight Transport Association (FTA) survey has revealed that congestion on UK roads is at the worst it has been for over ten years.   
 
FTA’s Quarterly Transport Activity Survey (QTAS) illustrated the rate of deterioration in reliability on the road network at 55 per cent, which is the lowest it has been since 2002, due to increased traffic in the run-up to Christmas.
 
The results from the survey of over 100 logistics operators are seen as an indication of the impact of the increase in domestic road freight activity levels, and further highlight the rate of decline in the reliability of the UK motorway network.
 
Karen Dee, FTA’s director of Policy, said: “This FTA Survey is a clear indication that congestion on our roads has increased again, and drivers are getting stuck in traffic on a regular basis.  Reliability on the UK road network is crucial for road freight operators. The freight and logistics industry needs road infrastructure that it can rely on to ensure that products are moved efficiently and at reasonable cost.  As the economy grows there will be increasing demands which will mean more pressure to deliver and more vehicles on the roads – so it is only going to get worse.”
 
Previously FTA voiced its support for the Road Investment Strategy (RIS) – which was announced by the Department for Transport in December 2014, stating that it “believed it can only be good news for all road users.”  The RIS outlines plans for US$22 billion to be spent over five years on 1,300 new lane miles on motorways and trunk roads in order to reduce congestion and fix some of the most notorious and longstanding problem areas on the UK road network.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Development of cooperative driving applications for work zones
    July 17, 2012
    The German AKTIV project is researching several cooperative driving applications for use in work zones. PTV's Michael Ortgiese details progress. The steep increases in traffic volumes predicted back in the early 1990s have unfortunately been proven to be more than accurate. In Germany, the AKTIV project continues to look into cooperative technologies' potential to reduce the impact of those increased traffic volumes and keep traffic moving despite limitations in infrastructure capacity.
  • Fleet management market ‘worth US$35billion by 2019’
    November 4, 2014
    According to a new market research report Fleet Management Market by Components, Technologies and Services (Fleet Analytics, Vehicle Tracking & Fleet Monitoring, Telemetric, Vendor Services), by Fleet Vehicle Types (Trucks, Light Goods, Buses, Corporate Fleets, Container Ships, Aircrafts) - Global Forecast to 2019, published by MarketsandMarkets, the Fleet Management Market is expected to grow from US$12.06 billion in 2014 to US$35.35 billion by 2019, at an compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.0 per cen
  • UK motorists ‘relax attitudes’ on distracted driving
    September 15, 2016
    Research for the RAC’s Report on Motoring 2016 has revealed that for some, attitudes towards handheld mobile use have worryingly relaxed over the last two years. The proportion of people who feel it is acceptable to take a quick call on a handheld phone has doubled from seven per cent in 2014 to 14 per cent in 2016 and the percentage of drivers who feel it is safe to check social media on their phone when in stationary traffic, either at traffic lights or in congestion, has increased from 14 per cent in
  • London’s zero-emission plan is premature, warns FTA
    October 24, 2018
    Plans to implement a clean air zone in London are premature, says a transport trade body - because zero-emission vehicles are not commercially viable. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is unimpressed with the City of London Transport Strategy’s ambition to improve air quality and traffic in the east of the capital and the Barbican area by 2022. This draft scheme, which maps out a 25-year framework for managing streets within the City’s ‘Square Mile’, includes establishing a speed limit of 15 mp