Road Traffic Estimates in Great Britain, 2022: Traffic in Great Britain by Road Type
Published 13 July 2023
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
© Crown copyright 2023
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About this release
This release presents the 2022 annual estimates of traffic on Great Britain’s roads broken down by road type.
Please see the companion releases for an overview of the 2022 traffic estimates, a breakdown by vehicle type, a breakdown for England’s road networks.
Annual traffic statistics are compiled using data from around 8,000 roadside 12-hour manual counts, continuous data from automatic traffic counters, and data on road lengths. Please see our methodology note for more details.
The next annual traffic statistics release is expected to be published in May 2024, reporting 2023 traffic figures.
Overview
All road types saw an increase in traffic levels during 2022 compared to 2021 and a decrease when comparing 2022 levels to 2019.
Chart 28: Vehicle miles travelled by road type in Great Britain, 2019 to 2022
Chart 28 is a bar chart that shows that, although all road types saw an increase between 2021 and 2022, traffic remained below the 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Motorway and ‘A’ road traffic saw the biggest rises between 2021 and 2022 (13.3% and 9.4%, respectively), but remained below 2019 levels by -3.2% and -5.5%, respectively. Minor roads experienced a smaller rise in vehicle miles, 5.6% between 2021 and 2022 and in 2022 were -3.7% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Chart 29: Share of traffic and length by road types in Great Britain, 2022
Chart 29 is a bar chart that shows that vehicle activity is unevenly distributed across Great Britain’s road network. In 2022, 65% of the motor vehicle miles travelled were on motorways and ‘A’ roads, despite comprising only 13% of the road network by length.
Chart 30: Number of vehicles passing per 24 hours on a typical stretch of road, 2022
Chart 30 is a bar chart that shows that, on an average day in 2022, 55 times more vehicles travelled along a typical stretch of motorway than a typical stretch of a minor road (‘B’ roads, ‘C’ roads, and unclassified roads).
Motorway traffic
Definition
Motorways Includes major roads of regional and urban strategic importance, often used for long distance travel. They are usually 3 or more lanes in each direction and generally have the maximum speed limit of 70mph.
In 2022, 68.2 billion vehicle miles were travelled on Great Britain’s motorways, an increase of 13.3% on the 2021 total. Compared to 2019, motorway traffic was 3.2% lower in 2022.
Chart 31: Motorway miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022
Chart 31 is a bar chart that shows that motor vehicle miles travelled on motorways in Great Britain saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a sharp decline in 2020, traffic levels in 2021 and 2022 increased, but 2022 levels still remain lower than the 2017 levels.
Chart 32: Motorway miles by vehicle type in Great Britain, 2022
Chart 32 is a bar chart that shows that traffic levels on motorways increased for all vehicle types between 2021 and 2022, except for lorries. Lorry traffic on motorways decreased slightly by -1.2%. Car and van traffic saw increases of 17.4% and 9.0%, respectively.
Compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, 2022 car traffic and other vehicle traffic remained lower, by 8.2% and 29.1%, respectively. Van and lorry traffic were both above 2019 levels, rising by 17.5% and 2.0%, respectively.
Motorways are generally the busiest roads. The road link with the highest average daily traffic flows in 2022 was a section of the M25.
5 busiest road sections
Vehicles per day in 2022 (rounded figures)
| 1. | M25: junction 14 to 15 | 204,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | M25: junction 15 to 16 | 201,000 |
| 3. | M25: junction 13 to 14 | 200,000 |
| 4. | M60: junction 12 to 13 | 191,000 |
| 5. | M25: junction 12 to 13 | 191,000 |
‘A’ road traffic
Definition
‘A’ Roads Includes both principal and trunk ‘A’ roads. They are often described as the ‘main’ roads and tend to have heavy traffic flows, though not as high as motorways.
In 2022, 142.0 billion vehicle miles were travelled on Great Britain’s ‘A’ roads, an increase of 9.4% on the 2021 total. Compared to 2019, ‘A’ road traffic was 5.5% lower in 2022.
Chart 33: ‘A’ road miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022
Chart 33 is a bar chart that shows that motor vehicle miles travelled on ‘A’ roads in Great Britain saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a sharp decline in 2020, traffic levels in 2021 and 2022 increased, but 2022 levels still remain lower than the 2016 levels.
Chart 34: ‘A’ road miles by vehicle type in Great Britain, 2022
Chart 34 is a bar chart that shows that traffic levels on ‘A’ roads increased for all vehicle types between 2021 and 2022. Car traffic increased by 10.4% on Great Britain’s ‘A’ roads. Van and lorry traffic on ‘A’ roads saw increases of 8.0% and 0.9%, respectively. Other vehicles (buses and coaches and motorcycles) saw the biggest increase, rising by 11.8%.
Compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, 2022 car traffic and other vehicle traffic remained lower, by 8.4% and 12.8%, respectively. Van traffic was above 2019 levels, rising by 8.9%, and lorry traffic was at a similar level.
Minor road traffic
Definition
Minor Roads Includes ‘B’ and ‘C’ classified roads and unclassified roads (all of which are maintained by local authorities). Private roads are not included.
In 2022, 113.6 billion vehicle miles were travelled on Great Britain’s minor roads, an increase of 5.6% on the 2021 total. Compared to 2019, minor road traffic was 3.7% lower in 2022.
Chart 35: Minor road miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022
Chart 35 is a bar chart that shows that motor vehicle miles travelled on minor roads in Great Britain generally saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a sharp decline in 2020, traffic levels in 2021 and 2022 increased, but 2022 levels still remain lower than the 2016 levels.
Chart 36: Minor road miles by vehicle type in Great Britain, 2022
Chart 36 is a bar chart that shows that traffic levels on Great Britain’s minor roads increased for all vehicle types between 2021 and 2022, except for lorries. Lorry traffic on minor roads decreased by -5.4%. Car and van traffic saw increases of 6.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Other vehicles (buses and coaches and motorcycles) saw the biggest increase, rising by 11.7%.
Compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, 2022 car traffic remained lower, 5.1%. Van traffic, lorry traffic and other vehicle traffic were all above 2019 levels, rising by 0.8% and 0.2% and 13.2%, respectively.
Background Information
Annual estimates make use of data from around 8,000 manual traffic counts in addition to continuous data from a national network of automatic traffic counters. These data sources produce accurate estimates on traffic levels in Great Britain by vehicle type and by road type.
Whilst road traffic data is accurate at a high level of aggregation, it should be noted that:
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Although we produce traffic breakdowns by local authorities, traffic at this level is not as robust, due to the sample size of the minor road data, and must be treated with caution
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Estimates for pedal cycle traffic only include cycling on roads, or paths directly adjacent to the road, and do not include estimates of cycling on other routes such as canal paths. Therefore, they may not give a complete representation of cycling
Further information about these statistics is available, including:
- a detailed explanation of the methodology used to produce DfT road traffic statistics can be found online in the annual road traffic estimates: methodology note
- notes and definitions for the road traffic statistics
- the data tables, which give further detail of the key results presented in this statistical release
- a geographical website that allows users to view and download estimated traffic flows on every link of the ‘A’ road and motorway network in Great Britain
Further Information
National Statistics are produced to high professional standards, as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in February 2013, details of which can be found on the road traffic statistics information page.
Details of Ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found on the pre-release access page.
To hear more about DfT statistics publications as they are released, please follow us on Twitter.
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Contact details
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