Cities shamed in jams league

Bristol is battered as survey exposes gridlocked Britain.

Auto Express Car Reviews

11th April 2008

It's official – Bristol has been named the slowest city in Britain, with an average speed of only 16.8mph!

That’s the shock finding of a new survey by the AA and Trafficmaster. It confirms what motorists have long suspected – the UK is gridlocked. England’s sixth largest city pipped London to the title. And the problem is so serious nationwide, the AA has introduced a fleet of electric scooters and motorbikes to cut urban response times (see Inside story, Page 40).

The report also suggested jams are worsening, in spite of initiatives such as the congestion charge and the expansion of cycle networks. For example, the breakdown organisation found the level of commuter traffic in Cardiff is rising by three per cent annually – 50 per cent above the British average – while congest-ion is costing motorists in the West Midlands £2.3billion a year.