Britain’s busy A-roads where drivers face the worst delays

By Tia Harrison-North

Drivers using some of Britain’s busiest local A-roads are facing more than four minutes of extra journey time per mile travelled due to traffic delays, new analysis has revealed.

Our research used Department for Transport traffic and congestion data to find the high-traffic A-roads where drivers face the biggest delays compared with free-flowing conditions.

The A217 through Hammersmith and Fulham tops the ranking, adding an average of four minutes and 23 seconds per mile to journeys.

That’s more than six times the 43-second median delay across the 266 high-traffic roads analysed, and it means even a short stretch of road can add several minutes to a regular commute in your new or used car.

The 10 high-traffic local A-roads with the greatest delays are:

1. A217, Hammersmith and Fulham: 4 mins 23 secs delay per mile
2. A2, Lewisham: 3 mins 45 secs
3. A41, Camden: 2 mins 35 secs
4. A312, Ealing: 2 mins 33 secs
5. A101, Tower Hamlets: 2 mins 29 secs
6. A101, Southwark: 2 mins 18 secs
7. A406, Ealing: 2 mins 17 secs
8. A4150, Wolverhampton: 2 mins 12 secs
9. A5460, Leicester: 2 mins 11 secs
10. A406, Hounslow: 2 mins 9 secs

Wolverhampton has the worst delays outside London

Seven of the 10 worst-performing roads are in London, but some of the biggest delays are being recorded well beyond the capital.

The A4150 through Wolverhampton is the most delayed high-traffic A-road outside London, adding around two minutes and 12 seconds per mile compared with free-flowing conditions.

Leicester’s A5460 is just one second behind at two minutes and 11 seconds, while the A4161 in Cardiff adds almost two minutes per mile.

The A4540 in Birmingham records around one minute and 57 seconds of extra delay, followed by Bristol’s A4044 at one minute and 44 seconds and the A516 in Derby at around one minute and 43 seconds.

Southend-on-Sea’s A127 and Liverpool’s A506 also feature among the most delayed high-traffic roads outside the capital.

Across Scotland’s eight qualifying roads, the median delay is 49.2 seconds per mile. The A725 through North Lanarkshire has the highest delay in Scotland, at around one minute and 20 seconds per mile.

In Wales, the 11 qualifying roads have a median delay of 36.4 seconds per mile, with Cardiff’s A4161 recording the highest figure at just under two minutes.

London drivers face the greatest average delays

London’s high-traffic A-roads also face the greatest delays, with drivers typically losing more than twice as much time per mile as those in the South East.

The capital has a median delay of 63.0 seconds per mile, compared with 23.9 seconds in the South East.

The English regions where high-traffic A-roads face the greatest delays are:

1. London: 63.0 seconds per mile
2. East Midlands: 52.2 seconds
3. West Midlands: 45.5 seconds
4. North West: 44.2 seconds
5. Yorkshire and The Humber: 42.2 seconds
6. South West: 42.0 seconds
7. East of England: 28.7 seconds
8. North East: 27.8 seconds
9. South East (not including London): 23.9 seconds

The East Midlands is the only English region outside London where the median delay is more than 50 seconds per mile, with Leicester’s A5460 and Derby’s A516 among its most delayed routes.

Some busy A-roads see less than 10 seconds of delay per mile

At the other end of the ranking, some high-traffic A-roads record few delays.

The A435 through Worcestershire has the lowest measurable delay in the study, at just 6.9 seconds per mile compared with free-flowing conditions.

The five high-traffic A-roads with the lowest measurable delays are:

1. A435, Worcestershire: 6.9 seconds additional delay per mile
2. A299, Kent: 7.7 seconds
3. A38, Staffordshire: 8.1 seconds
4. A40, Hillingdon: 8.2 seconds
5. A338, Dorset: 8.6 seconds

The A40 through Hillingdon carries more than 104,000 vehicles on an average day, but records just 8.2 seconds of additional delay per mile.

This shows that high traffic levels don’t always lead to the biggest delays, with factors such as junctions, traffic lights and road layout also affecting how quickly traffic moves.

Ben Welham, our motoring expert, said: “Busy A-roads often have junctions, traffic lights, merging traffic and lots of local journeys, so it doesn’t take much for traffic to start slowing down.

“For commuters, a road that regularly adds a minute or two for every mile can make a real difference over the course of a week, especially when roadworks or incidents add to the usual congestion.

“More than four extra minutes for every mile is a lot of additional time, particularly when the median across the high-traffic roads we looked at is less than a minute.

“If you know your regular route is prone to delays, check live traffic before setting off and give yourself a little extra time where you can. Avoiding unnecessary acceleration and braking in slow-moving traffic can also make the journey easier and help reduce fuel use.”