Traffic jams are still a headache on the M25
Posted by Richard Sinclair
Drivers in and around London will know that the M25 can be a nightmare at certain times of the week, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours.
Now the level of frustration caused by the London circular has been highlighted by new data from the TomTom HD Traffic Centre, which found that sections of the M25 accounted for five of the UK's top ten worst traffic jams in July.
The longest tailback on the motorway occurred on Friday July 29th, according to TomTom's data, with traffic jams stretching from junction 19 near Watford all the way to the Sevenoaks junction – a queue of 49 miles.
A section of the M25 from junction 8 at Reigate to junction 16, the M40 interchange, appeared twice in the top ten list – with queues of 27.5 miles and 26 miles on the Friday afternoons of July 8th and 22nd.
This stretch of motorway has been particularly problematic in the past as it straddles the junctions serving Heathrow Airport, and was widened in conjunction with the opening of Terminal 5 back in 2008.
Peak levels of traffic during the month were recorded by TomTom's HD Traffic Centre at 3.58 pm on Friday July 8th, when more than 1,000 miles of jams were recorded UK-wide.
The average jam length at any one time across the country was 148 miles last month.
Drivers will no doubt be worried that the road conditions in the UK will deteriorate even further, creating more traffic jams, after the Highways Agency announced changes to its rules concerning the repair of potholes.
Contractors will now not be required to urgently repair holes that measure less than 15 cm wide and 4 cm deep, in a bid to save money.
Unsurprisingly, the move has been met with criticism from a number of motoring organisations including the Institute of Advanced Motoring, the Association of British Drivers and the Asphalt Industry Alliance.
Malcolm Simms, spokesman for the Asphalt Industry Alliance, said the new rules would mean that more temporary speed restrictions would be put in place.
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