London has Europe’s second largest traffic jams. Only Paris has more congestion, says USA-based Inrix Inc. It has collated data in 2009 and 2010 from drivers using its systems to create, it says, more comprehensive traffic information than available from traditional road sensors and sample surveys. The results make difficult reading for UK highway authorities. An Inrix report noted: “UK drivers spend more time in traffic compared to drivers in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The fallout from heavy traffic congestion hits the UK economy hard…” it added especially through wasted fuel costs. That said London, although often gridlocked, gets bad marks partly because it is big. Manchester is actually worse in terms of wasting hours in traffic, on a driver-per-year basis. Drivers idled for 72 hours annually on average in Manchester traffic, says Inrix. Across Europe, only Utrecht, the Netherlands, was worse. Paris clocked in at 70 hours. London at 54 hours. In the UK, the next worst time wasters were Newcastle (upon Tyne) and Belfast, both with 62 hours. The worst place to drive in Britain? Manchester on Fridays from 5pm-6pm: it takes on average 56% longer than the same journey without congestion.

1. London: Drivers waste 54 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Friday from 17:00-18:00

2. Manchester: Drivers waste 72 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Friday from 17:00-18:00

3. Belfast: Drivers waste 62 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Monday from 8:00-9:00 AM

4. Newcastle upon Tyne: Drivers waste 62 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Wednesday 8:00-9:00 AM

5. Glasgow: Drivers waste 48 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Tuesday 8:00-9:00 AM

6. Birmingham: Drivers waste 53 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Monday 8:00-9:00 AM

7. Leeds-Bradford: Drivers waste 40 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Monday 8:00-9:00 AM

8. Aberdeen: Drivers waste 56 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Tuesday 8:00-9:00 AM

9. Liverpool: Drivers waste 58 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Monday 8:00-9:00 AM

10. Edinburgh: Drivers waste 49 hours per year in traffic, Worst Hour = Wednesday 8:00-9:00 AM