Fuel and weather woes see spring traffic levels drop

Fuel and weather woes see spring traffic levels drop

Factors such as high fuel prices and dismal weather conditions made sure that traffic levels on our roads throughout this spring suffered a rare fall-off.

Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show an overall decrease in motor vehicle traffic of 1.2 per cent during the second quarter (April to June) when compared with the same season last year. This equates to a distance of 74.7 billion vehicle miles. However it wasn't just car traffic that accounted for this downturn, as that was down just 0.7 per cent. The traffic figures for buses, coaches and motorbikes were down by a whopping 19.2 per cent.

It is thought that the price of fuel and the general economic deterioration did much to expediate this dive. Petrol prices wavered around the 140p per litre mark throughout the month of April, as remarked upon by a spokesman for the DfT: "Concerns about the supply of fuel (from the tanker driver dispute earlier this year) and increases in the pump price may have resulted in people reducing the number and distance of trips they made by road."

April and June also saw some of the wettest weather the country had experienced for many years, which may have swayed more people into staying at home and forgoing short journeys. A DfT spokesman said that these dismal weather conditions "may have put people off making trips for leisure purposes".

The only type of vehicle that actually increased their usual mileage during spring were light goods vehicles, whose distance travelled was up by 1.5 per cent over the same period of 2011.

You can read the Department for Transport's entire findings here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/road-traffic-estimates-quarter-2-2012

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