Delivery vans causing gridlock on British roads

The internet shopping blast has made streets more congested than any time in recent memory, official figures uncover, as a result of an immense increase in delivery vans causing gridlock.

Temporary figures revealed by the Department for Transport demonstrate that traffic has hit record levels, surpassing the past pre-recession peak. Altogether 320.5 billion vehicle miles traversed the UK a year ago, up 1.2% from the year before.

The expansion has been driven by a surge in the quantity of vans transporting basic supplies and different products to families.

The number of Britons who shop online has been steadily rising over the years, spending a staggering £130billion online last year, up 16% on the earlier year.

This has been fuelled by the ascent of web giants such as Amazon. Van activity has risen right around five times quicker than car traffic, and vans clocked a record 48.5 billion miles a year ago – a 3.4% increase! Substantial heavy vehicles were up 2.8% while car movement climbed only 0.7%.

The Commons Transport Committee is taking a gander at the ascent of white vans as part of a wider investigation into worsening congestion on roads. It is also looking at poorly planned roadworks, the expansion in minicabs and the development of more isolated cycle paths.

London is the most affected part of the nation, as indicated by traffic expert Inrix, with the normal driver burning through 101 hours, or 12 working days, in annual activity a year ago, with average speeds of just 7.4mph — slower than a stallion-pulled carriage of the eighteenth century.