Motor traffic down 19% in the year to September 2020 - RAC comment

Commenting on new official data that shows the extent to which traffic volumes fell during the year to September 2020, RAC data insight spokesman Rod Dennis said:

“After two decades of increasing vehicle traffic, the drop in traffic volumes we’ve seen this year is nothing if not dramatic. The million pound question now is what happens next? Will 2021 see a return to historically high levels of vehicles on the roads, or will a longer-lasting effect of the pandemic – and the economic fall-out from it – be lower numbers for the foreseeable future?

“The drop in the number of miles driven by cars in third quarter of the year to 219.9bn has not been seen since 1996 when there were just 22m cars on the road, 10m fewer than today. The Department for Transport figures also estimate that 289bn miles were driven by all vehicles from July to September which is 67bn fewer than the same period last year, a decrease of 19%. The last time all vehicles in Britain were estimated to have driven that many miles was in 2001 when there just under 30m vehicles on the road in stark contrast to the 38.3m we now have.”

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The RAC provides complete peace of mind to 12m UK private and business drivers, whatever their motoring needs. Its services include:

Breakdown assistance. Its highly-skilled, 1,600-strong branded patrol workforce attends more than two million breakdowns every year, fixing on average four out of five vehicles at the roadside. The RAC’s patrol fleet is one of the most advanced in the UK, and was the first to roll out both an All-Wheels-Up recovery system, allowing the vast majority of vehicles to be recovered from a single patrol van, and EV Boost mobile electric vehicle charging units
Insurance. The RAC is a top-five car insurance broker having surpassed the 500,000 policies-in-force milestone in 2018. It also offers ‘black box’ telematics policies, as well as home and travel insurance
Other motoring services. The RAC leads in the development of new solutions for business, fleets, electric vehicles and future car technology. Its additional products and services include a personal loans offering, a used car buying website, vehicle inspections and checks, legal services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information. It also has a network of Approved Dealers and Approved Garages which combine the trust of RAC brand with local service and convenience

The RAC also works to support the interests of its members and UK drivers on the most important motoring issues which it identifies via the annual RAC Report on Motoring and the RAC Opinion Panel. The Report on Motoring is the longest running analysis of driver opinion in the UK having been published every year since 1989.

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