The government has produced provisional figures for traffic levels during the first quarter of 2009. It is perhaps a surprise to those still enduring a daily commute but figures suggest a reduction in volume, compared to 2008, of 3% for cars, 2% for vans and a staggering 12% for heavy commercials. The motorways in particular seem to have benefitted with volumes down 5% compared to urban A roads down by 2%.

The department for Transport figures suggest that the overall effect sits at about 3.5% reduction and attributes 1% of this to the heavy snow fall in February. This still leaves the nagging thought that this may just be a reflection of the wider economy. Who'd have thought we'd end up hoping for more traffic jams?
For full details visit http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/roadstraffic/traffic/qbtrafficgb/2009/q109