New government data shows drivers suffered an increase in delays on major A-roads and motorways in England in 2018.

Drivers faced increased delays on both major A-roads and motorways in England in 2018

The Department for Transport (DfT) figures show the average delay in 2018 on the strategic road network increased 3.9%, giving an average speed of 59mph; down 0.6% on the previous year.

Meanwhile the average delay on A-roads was up 0.8%, with an average speed of 24.9mph, down 1.3% on 2017.

Commenting on the figures, RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “More congestion means more wasted time and money, which is clearly bad news for drivers, but it may be a case of short-term pain for longer term gain. Much work is being carried out on our motorways to improve capacity by upgrading them to smart motorways, but this inevitably causes delays. Nonetheless, extra capacity is badly needed as Britain now has around 38m vehicles registered for use, and in the 10 years from 2007 more than four million extra vehicles came on to the road – that’s a 12% increase.”