The new DfT stats for Q3 2014 show that traffic on motorways in Great Britain increased from 15.9 billion vehicle miles in Q3 2013 to 16.3 billion vehicle miles in Q3 2014, representing growth of 2.3%.

The DfT added that motorway traffic has increased by more than 47% over a 20 year period since 1994.

Meanwhile estimates for “A” road traffic in Q3 also increased when compared to the same period in 2013. In Q3 2014, traffic on rural ‘A’ roads was 22.4 billion vehicle miles, up 2.2%. Traffic on urban “A” roads has also increased, rising to 12.4 billion vehicle miles, which is a 1.9% increase on Q3 2013 estimates.

The research also found that traffic volumes rose by 0.6% on minor rural roads, compared with Q3 estimates for 2013, rising to 10.5 billion vehicle miles. Traffic on minor urban roads increased more sharply by 3.5%, totalling 16.3 billion vehicle miles over the same period.

Car and taxi traffic increased by 1.4%, to 61.1 billion vehicle miles, in Q3 of 2014 from Q3 2013.

And LGV traffic totalled 11.4 billion vehicle miles in Q3 of 2014, 6.9% higher than in the same quarter in the previous year. This contributes to a 21.5% growth in LGV traffic over the past ten years, and an increase of 69.6% since Q3 1994.

RAC Business Services spokesman Simon Williams commented on the figures, saying: ‘This is clearly good news for the economy as motorways are vital for business and increased use indicates more activity, which has already been suggested by the latest rise in GDP for the third quarter of 2014.

‘However it does also put extra strain on parts of the road network adjoining motorways that are not able to cope with the volume of traffic and therefore lead to bottlenecks. Many of these ‘pinch points’ are already being addressed by the Highways Agency which is good news for road users who will hopefully benefit from more free-flowing traffic conditions in the future.

‘The increase in light good vehicles, or "white van man", is a really encouraging sign that small businesses and tradesmen, the lifeblood of the UK economy, are thriving.’