A NEW study has revealed the areas of the UK with the highest average daily traffic flow across last year. Thurrock, Essex ranked third on the list, following Hounslow, London and Hillingdon, London in first and second place respectively.
Accident compensation experts Claims.co.uk analysed public data on annual average daily traffic flow within local authorities throughout 2022. The results were based on the average total over a full year of the number of vehicles passing a point in the road network of that area each day.
Hounslow, London had the highest daily traffic flow of all UK areas in 2022 with an average total of 8,835 vehicles passing through each day. This was higher than its average daily total of 8,155 vehicles in 2021 and the average daily total of 7,182 vehicles in 2020 during the pandemic. It is included as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Greater London.
Hillingdon, London came in second place with an average total of 8,670 vehicles passing through each day. This was higher than its average daily total of 8,012 vehicles in 2021. Hillingdon is the largest and westernmost borough in West London and receives a lot of regular traffic from London Heathrow Airport.
Thurrock, Essex ranks third with an average total of 7,966 vehicles passing through each day. This was higher than its average daily total of 7,349 vehicles in 2021, although less significant than other areas. Thurrock is within the London commuter belt and includes the Port of Tilbury, the principal port for London.
Cardiff, Wales came close behind in fourth place with an average total of 7,650 vehicles passing through each day. This was higher than its average daily total of 6956 vehicles in 2021. Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales, its main commercial centre, and a base for the Welsh Parliament.
Enfield, London placed fifth with an average total of 7,611 vehicles passing through each day. This was higher than its average daily total of 6,903 vehicles in 2021. Enfield is a large town in north London known for its heritage and is identified as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Other local authorities in the top ten include Tower Hamlets, Kingston upon Thames, Salford, Knowsley, and Warrington.
Isles of Scilly in Cornwall had the lowest recorded daily traffic flow with an average of 173 vehicles per day.
A spokesman for Claims.co.uk commented:
“It is interesting to see which local authorities have the highest annual average daily flow as this indicates how much traffic they receive across the whole year, rather than just the busier periods on the roads.
“Considering how varied the results are for daily traffic flow in 2022, it will be interesting to see how these rankings might change next year and whether any of these local authorities maintain similar scores in the list.”
