The latest road traffic and speeds statistics from the Department for Transport.

The latest estimates of road traffic and free-flow vehicle speeds in Great Britain have been published by the Department for Transport.  Free flow vehicle speeds provide an insight into the speeds at which drivers choose to travel and their compliance with speed limits rather than being an estimate of average speed across the network.

Summary of latest key results

The latest provisional traffic estimates show that motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain was 3.5% lower in the fourth quarter of 2010 than in the fourth quarter of 2009.

• If the effects of snowfall in the fourth quarter of 2010 are removed, it is estimated that the fall in overall traffic would not have been as great (by around 2.5%).
• Provisional estimates show car and heavy goods vehicle traffic were both 4% lower in the fourth quarter of 2010 than in the fourth quarter of 2009, where as light van traffic was 1% higher.
• Provisional annual estimates for 2010 show that overall vehicle traffic in Great Britain was 2.1% lower than in 2009, at 306.6 billion vehicle miles, although this figure will be affected by heavy snowfall in the first and fourth quarters of 2010.

The latest information on journey times and delay on roads in England: summary of latest key results

Inter-urban roads

In the year ending December 2010, the provisional figure for average vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys was 3.55 minutes per 10 miles. This represents a fall of 9% since the baseline year ending March 2008.

Locally managed 'A' roads

• Provisionally, average speeds during the weekday morning peak on locally managed 'A' roads in England were slower in October, November and December 2010 than in 2009.
• This data appears to continue the downward trend in speeds seen in recent months but vehicles are still travelling faster in the morning peak than during 2007 and 2008.

Urban areas

Final person journey times on key routes in the largest urban areas in England were 2% faster in 2009/10 than in 2008/9 and 7.4% faster than in 2004/5.