Traffic down 19 per cent in the year to September, DfT data suggests

Latest stats show largest fall since quarterly records started in 1994

Traffic down 19 per cent in the year to September, DfT data suggests
Image: Bigstock.

Provisional estimates show motor vehicles travelled 288.7 billion miles in Great Britain for the year ending September 2020.

The provisional road traffic estimates from the Department for Transport (DfT) show a decrease of 18.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, largest fall since quarterly records started in 1994.

Car traffic decreased by 20.9 per cent to 219.9 billion vehicle miles, while van and lorry traffic decreased by 11.4 per cent and ten per cent respectively.

The last time all vehicles in Britain were estimated to have driven that many miles was in 2001 when there just under 30m vehicles on the road in stark contrast to the 38.3m we now have.

Related: Number of DVLA-registered ‘historic vehicles’ on the rise

Traffic decreased across all main road types – motorways, ‘A’ roads and minor roads decreased by 24.9 per cent, 18.7 per cent and 15.9 per cent respectively.

RAC data insight spokesman Rod Dennis said: “After two decades of increasing vehicle traffic, the drop in traffic volumes we’ve seen this year is nothing if not dramatic.

“The million pound question now is what happens next?

“Will 2021 see a return to historically high levels of vehicles on the roads, or will a longer-lasting effect of the pandemic – and the economic fall-out from it – be lower numbers for the foreseeable future?”

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