Motorists cut 1.7 million miles off their journeys in the first quarter of 2013

The severe winter appears to have had a big effect on road traffic levels according to provisional Government figures.

Motor vehicle traffic in Britain fell 2.3% to 74.7 billion miles in the first three months of 2013 compared with the same period last year.

RAC spokesman Pete Williams said: “All in all it was a tough winter for UK motorists. Ravaged by floods, snow drifts and arctic conditions drivers battled on against the elements to get to work and carry on their lives but for many they were stopped in their tracks by the high price of fuel.

“While we should welcome the news that there was less traffic on our roads the RAC attended more than 700,000 breakdowns during this period, nearly 10% higher than expected, we know that it didn’t feel any less frustrating for motorists.

“We know that motorists have been reducing their mileage year on year to save on the cost of motoring but the record high price of fuel, which is mostly down to the excessive level of duty and VAT, has forced many motorists to cut out non-essential journeys. But this has to be another warning sign to the Government that a change to motoring taxation is long overdue as a valuable revenue stream is clearly in decline.”