Figures just released by the Department for Transport show that the number of cars on the road has fallen, as has the time motorists waste stuck on congested roads.

The provisional figures in the statistical bulletin Transport Statistics: Road Traffic and Congestion in Great Britain for the second quarter of 2010 shows the level of congestion in the 10 major urban areas in England for the quarter ending May 2010. 

They show a decrease of 1.2% in overall traffic levels in quarter 2 2010 compared to quarter 2 2009.

Other key results include:

  • Car traffic has decreased by 1%.
  • Light van traffic has increased by 1%.
  • Heavy goods vehicle traffic has decreased by 4%.
  • Traffic on motorways has decreased by 2%.
  • Traffic on rural ‘A’ roads has not changed.
  • Traffic on urban ‘A’ roads has decreased by 2%.
  • Traffic on minor rural roads has decreased by 1%.
  • Traffic on minor urban roads has decreased by 1%.

The bulletin also includes statistics on congestion on motorways and trunk ‘A’ roads in England.

Between the baseline year ending March 2008 and the year ending June 2010, provisional figures show that:

  • Average vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys fell from 3.90 to 3.60 minutes per 10 miles.
  • Across the ten urban areas, the provisional average vehicle journey time was 3 minutes and 22 seconds per mile in the quarter ending May 2010. This is five seconds slower than for the quarter ending May 2009 but faster than the equivalent quarters in 2008 and 2007