Road traffic volume down slightly in 2012

The Department for Transport has released statistics relating to road traffic in Great Britain in the fourth quarter of last year and for 2012 as a whole. Over the year, the volume of all motor vehicle traffic fell by 0.4 per cent to 302.6 billion vehicle miles. Cars accounted for 79.4 per cent of all motor vehicle traffic, which is broadly the same proportion as in recent years.

Comparing the fourth quarter with Q4 2011, the volume of all motor vehicle traffic rose slightly, by 0.4 per cent to 76.7 billion vehicle miles. The biggest growth was in the light goods vehicle sector, where traffic volume was up by 3.2 per cent to 10.8 billion vehicle miles. By contrast, heavy goods vehicle traffic decreased by 1.9 per cent to 3.8 billion vehicle miles.

The DfT says that a number of factors may affect traffic volumes. For example, traffic levels would normally be expected to change in line with economic growth. When comparing changes between Q4 2011 and Q4 2012: GDP was broadly flat whilst there was a small increase in traffic volume. Traffic levels are influenced by some sectors more than others and whilst there was a decrease in production (-2.4 per cent), there were increases in distribution (1.7 per cent) and transport (0.4 per cent) which could have contributed towards the small increase in traffic.

In the past extreme weather conditions, such as heavy snowfall in quarter four of 2010 have dampened traffic volumes. Flooding and heavy rainfall in some areas of Great Britain in Q4 2012 does not appear to have had an effect on traffic volume at a national level.