Provisional road traffic estimates, Great Britain: July 2015 to June 2016

Provisional estimates for the 12-months ending June 2016 show that motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain was at a record high, with a total of 319.3bn miles travelled. The figure represents a 1.5% year-on-year increase and is 1.6% above the pre-recession peak of 2007. Traffic levels have now increased each quarter in succession for the last three years.

In terms of vehicle type, car traffic increased by 1.1% to a record 249.2bn miles, while van traffic levels increased by 3.7% to a new peak of 47.8bn miles. HGV traffic saw the sharpest rise, up 3.8% to 17bn miles.

Looking at road types, rural ‘A’ roads remain the busiest, with a 2.9% increase to 92.5bn miles representing a record high. Motorway traffic also rose to a record level, increasing by 2.6% to 67.4bn miles.

Traffic levels on minor urban roads showed no change at 64.9bn miles, while traffic on urban ‘A’ roads rose 0.6% to 50bn miles. Traffic on minor rural roads increased by 0.4% to 44.4bn.

Average speed on local ‘A’ roads in England for the year ending March 2016 was 25.5 mph, a year-on-year decrease of 2.1%.