Transport Statistics – Traffic and speeds
The DfT has released statistics that include Road Traffic in 2009, Free Flow Vehicle Speeds and Traffic Speeds on the Strategic Road Network in England
Results from the statistics include:
Car traffic was 249.0 billion vehicle miles in 2009, making up nearly 80% of all traffic.
20 per cent of traffic was on motorways, 28 per cent on rural ‘A’ roads, 16 per cent on urban ‘A’ roads, 14 per cent on rural minor roads and 22 per cent on urban minor roads.
The total length of road 2009 was estimated to be just over 245 thousand miles. Minor roads made up 87.2% of total road lengths, with motorways 0.9% and ‘A’ roads accounting for 11.9%
Around 1 in every 255 vehicle miles was driven by foreign registered vehicles.
In the ten years from 1999, the percentage of vehicles exceeding the 30 mph speed limit on built-up roads has fallen for every vehicle type.
In 1999, 67 per cent of cars travelled at speeds in excess of the limit; by 2009 this dropped to less than half (48 per cent).
On motorways in 2009, 52 per cent of cars exceeded the 70 mph speed limit. In addition, 16 per cent of cars were recorded as travelling at 80 mph or faster.
In 2009, over half of all motorcycles travelled faster than the 30 mph speed limit in built-up areas. Forty three per cent exceeded the speed limit by 5 mph or more.
The average traffic speed over the whole network rose from 55.3 mph in 2006 to 55.9 mph in 2008, an increase of 0.6 per cent.