A4 'winner' of most congested road

TRAFFIC JAMS are getting worse, with London hold-ups increasing despite the congestion charge, according to new figures.

UK drivers wasted a total of 30 hours in traffic congestion in 2013 - one hour more than in 2012 - statistics from traffic information company Inrix showed.

The London commute zone had the biggest increase in hours wasted, rising from 72 hours in 2012 to 82 hours last year.

Of 25 of the most congested cities in Europe for urban traffic, London was second only to Brussels (83 hours wasted last year).

Inrix also listed the worst roads in the UK based on total annual hours of delay in the peak period.

The "winner" was the A4 in the afternoon peak between central London and the junction 3 of the M4 near Heathrow in west London, with 91 annual delay hours.

Second in this "worst road" list, with 73 hours of annual delays, was the M4 going in the opposite direction in the afternoon between the M4 junction 3 and central London.

All the top 10 worst roads were in London and all were at their most congested in the afternoons.

The Inrix figures also showed that traffic congestion in 2013 was worse than in 2012 in nine of the 18 cities analysed.

After the London commute zone, the most congested areas were Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Nottinghamshire and Greater Birmingham.

Of the most congested European cities, Greater Manchester was 12th.

Overall, the UK was the sixth-worst congested country for traffic in 2013, with Belgium top (58 hours wasted in jams), followed by the Netherlands (44 hours), Germany and France (both 35 hours) and Luxembourg (31 hours).

Inrix president and chief executive Bryan Mistele said: "So goes traffic, so goes the economy.

"While bad news for drivers, the increases in traffic congestion in Europe are signs of a slowly recovering economy."

By Press Association reporters