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Congestion irks fleet drivers, RAC Report on Motoring finds
Date: 25 September 2015 | Author: Daniel Puddicombe
Company car drivers are more concerned about increasing congestion on UK roads than any other issue, the annual RAC Report on Motoring has revealed.
According to the yearly report 12% of business drivers rate congestion as their biggest frustration about driving in the UK.
The majority (65%) of respondents said that traffic has become worse in the past year, and more than three-quarters (78%) agreed that stronger steps are required to reduce congestion in the future.
Other annoyances for company car drivers include other motorists talking on mobile phones when driving (10%) and concerns about the cost of fuel (9%).
Just under half (47%) said they believe traffic due to emergency roadworks is worse than a year ago, while 29% claimed that congestion due to accidents is worse than 12 months ago, too.
The annual report found that heavy traffic is also taking its toll on traditional working hours, with 46% of company car drivers saying they alter their working hours to avoid getting stuck on their commute.
According to Department for Transport figures, there was a 2.3% increase in the amount of traffic in the year ending June 2015, with vehicles covering 314.6 billion miles - the highest recorded traffic figures in the UK to date.
"A good road network is vital for the UK's economic development and problems such as congestion could undermine the fragile economic recovery we are currently experiencing," said Jenny Powley, sales director, corporate business, RAC Business.
"We are seeing drivers altering their working hours to avoid traffic problems, which is fine if you have flexible working patterns and can do that," she continued. "But most people are committed to set working days and times, and they will be losing vital hours due to congestion, which will inevitably impact on productivity."
