MOTORWAY traffic jams cost British business £1.7 billion and 36 million man hours during the second quarter of this year, according to new figures from Milton Keynes-based Trafficmaster. And if action is not taken to defeat the jams the annual cost could hit £7.7 billion within the next 10 years as the average number of cars delayed by congestion reaches 623,000 a year by 2008.

During April, May and June the M25 alone cost companies £646 million in congestion and 13.5 million man hours, according to the Trafficmaster index of figures. But there is some good news - one million fewer vehicles were caught in congestion than the corresponding quarter last year, a drop from over 53 million to less than 52 million this year.

David Martell, chief executive of Trafficmaster, said: 'These latest statistics reveal just how important it is for fleets to have access to dynamic information on traffic conditions. Even at the current growth factor, the average number of cars delayed by congestion every day is likely to rise to 623,000 from today's 570,000, at an annual cost to the UK economy of £7.7 billion over the next 10 years.'

The hottest congestion spot was junction 9 of the M6 - just above the junction of the M5 and M6 motorways at Walsall - followed by junction 15 of the M25.