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Traffic jams cost the UK economy a total of £9bn, says INRIX

Mark Moran
23 October 2017
 

There were over 1.35m traffic jams in the past year on the UK’s major roads, costing drivers an estimated £9bn. The causes of the five worst queues ranged from fuel spills to broken down lorries.

The research from INRIX reveals that November 2016 was the worst month in terms of volume, with over 169,000 traffic jams on the UK’s major roads, 50% worse than average. However, traffic jams across the month of April proved the most severe, with the research revealing they were 24% worse than average. The year’s worst traffic jam occurred on 4th August 2017 on the M5 Northbound by Junction 10. Traffic tailed back 35 miles at the peak, and the jam lasted 15 hours, resulting in an estimated cost of £2.4 million to road users.

The cost of traffic jams is composed of the value of wasted time, fuel and unnecessary carbon emissions. Estimates were made based on assumptions about trip purpose and the fuel consumption of the average vehicle, with national averages used as a basis for these values. 

Dr Graham Cookson, chief economist at INRIX said: “While queuing is considered a national past-time for many Britons, nothing is more frustrating than sitting in traffic and INRIX Roadway Analytics shows it’s a costly activity. Jams can be caused by all kinds of incidents but the INRIX Incident Platform shows that fuel spillages, emergency repairs and broken down lorries contributed to the biggest pile-ups this year. As we head into November, the worst month for traffic jams last year, we advise motorists use the latest real-time traffic technology to keep up to date with the situation on the roads.” 

INRIX monthly summary of UK traffic jams 

The ‘average impact’ is calculated by multiplying the average duration of a traffic jam with its average length.

 

All FRC 1 and 2 Roads

Month

No. of Traffic Jams

Impact of Traffic Jams

Average Impact

September 16

135,135

12,820,180

95

October 16

136,255

12,664,459

93

November 16

169,931

16,290,137

96

December 16

115,280

11,324,131

98

January 17

101,272

8,346,117

82

February 17

89,925

10,071,818

112

March 17

96,167

10,834,639

113

April 17

71,519

9,207,443

129

May 17

115,546

11,418,822

99

June 17

118,633

12,118,544

102

July 17

104,851

11,163,833

106

August 17

102,895

12,385,246

120

Year to Date

1,357,430

138,645,368

104

Worst traffic jams in UK in past 12 months (excluding roadworks)

The cost is composed of the value of wasted time, fuel and unnecessary carbon emissions as a result of the delay imposed on drivers by these traffic jams. The costs are estimated by making assumptions about the trip purpose and the average vehicle.

  

INRIX Ranking

Date

Road & Direction

Junction

Duration (Hours)

Max Length (Miles)

Economic Cost

Original Cause

1

04/08/17

M5 - N

J10

15

35.9

£2,360,590

Accident / Fuel Spill

2

07/04/17

M6 - N

J21

8

31.0

£1,176,400

Emergency Repair

3

25/08/17

M6 - N

J17-23

8

26.4

£967,454

Broken down lorry

4

29/11/17

A406 - W

A109

15

14.3

£961,595

Accident

5

13/12/17

M6 - N

J32

10

20.4

£903,400

Fire / Emergency Repair

 

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