Caution For Holidaymakers as South West’s most congested roads revealed

Now that the summer holidays are here, travellers are warned to do their homework, as the most congested roads across the country are revealed.

The A3039 in North East Somerset has the worst delays of any A road in the region, as researched by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Motorists can expect average delays of 220.5 seconds per vehicle per mile (SPVPM) – almost double that of the next most congested A road, the A3040 near the holiday hotspot of Bournemouth.

Motorists in a hurry should also allow extra time if they are using their car in Bristol. It features five times in the top 10 most congested A roads in the South West.

Motorists on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) – motorways, trunk roads and the most significant ‘A’ roads – will be particularly frustrated by the A40 near Gloucester going at a snail’s pace of 138.6 SPVPM.

Gloucestershire roads feature in five of the 10 most congested roads in the SRN.

It is not all bad news though, with the ten least-congested SRN routes not slowing down motorists by more than 0.3 SPVPM. Average delays are just under 54 SPVPM overall though, across all road types.

When it comes to A roads, South West motorists will be pleased to hear that the average delay is just 13.4 SPVPM.

The South West performs slightly better than other regions, with the average SRN road delay in England being 58.8 SPVPM and 13.9 SPVPM for A roads.

The DfT survey covers 1180 SRN and over 200 A roads in the South West up to 29 June this year.

Greg Wilson, Founder of Quotezone.co.uk, a leading  car insurance comparison website, comments: “We expected to see a surge of traffic on our roads as Britain once again embraces the staycation to avoid the chaos at the airports, but we’d recommend all travellers use this data and work out their routes before getting behind the wheel – saving both time and fuel, and ensuring holidays get off to the best possible start.

“The South West is known for its more leisurely pace of life and quieter roads, but the new government findings show there are plenty of roads that dispel that myth.  While the major roads generally offer a better flow of traffic, day-to-day use of more minor A roads can be much more of an issue.”

Greg continues: “It would be sensible to check that car insurance policies have breakdown cover and the premium itself is as competitive as possible.  And if holidaymakers are braving the airports this summer, best to check congestion times and delays along the airport route to avoid any risk of a missed flight.”     

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