FIGURES from the Office for National Statistics show that car traffic (81% of all road traffic last year) rose 2% in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period in 1998 - the same rise as in the first quarter of 1999. While this may prove unwelcome news for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and his attempts to increase the popularity of public transport, the ONS believes it could be good for drivers' health.

In its report 'Road Traffic Deaths: Trends and Comparison with DETR Figures', it says that from the early 1980s the distance travelled using motor vehicles, except bikes, has increased 'dramatically'. 'This may have contributed to a decline in road traffic accidents in some areas where speeds have been reduced owing to increased volumes of traffic.'

Death rates on roads have fallen by more than 40% since the early 1980s.

The ONS found that men are three times more likely to be killed in a road accident than women, with young people the most vulnerable.