Traffic gridlock costs drivers dear as average bill for jams hits £1,168

Road jams cost the average motorist £1,168 a year, new figures show. The UK was the world’s 10th most congested country in 2017, according to data from Inrix, the traffic information supplier.

This takes into account direct costs, such as wasted fuel and time, as well as indirect consequences that include higher prices for household goods due to increased freighting fees being passed on to consumers.

The urban areas with the worst jams were London, followed by Manchester, Birmingham, Luton and Edinburgh.

Overall, UK drivers wasted an average of 31 hours stuck in rush-hour traffic last year.

London is Europe’s second most congested location after Moscow, with drivers in the capital spending an average of 74 hours in gridlock last year, up one hour on 2016.

The worst stretch of road was the A406 outer London ring road from Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane during the evening rush hour.

Dr Graham Cookson, the chief economist at Inrix, said: “The cost of congestion is astonishing. It takes billions out of the economy and impacts businesses and individuals.

“The average [cost] figure for London is £2,430. That’s many times more than what it costs me to insure my car and the cost of the fuel that I put in it,” he added.