This is how bad traffic delays really are in Northumberland

Drivers are held up a minute for every four miles they cover in Northumberland – but despite this, these are still some of the shortest delays in England.
Drivers are held up a minute for every four miles they cover in Northumberland. Picture: PADrivers are held up a minute for every four miles they cover in Northumberland. Picture: PA
Drivers are held up a minute for every four miles they cover in Northumberland. Picture: PA

Cars and vans were delayed by an average of 19.4 seconds every mile along Northumberland's A-roads last year, according to data from the Department for Transport.

It meant that each driver wasted 1.2 per cent less time than during the previous year. Yet it was still the shortest hold-up in the North East, where the average was 33 seconds per mile.

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LGA transport spokesman Martin Tett said there had been "underinvestment" in local roads. He added: "It would already take £9.8 billion and over 10 years for councils to clear the current local road repairs backlog.

"Councils also need extra funding to plug the £650 million gap in concessionary fares payments councils get from the Government.

"Having to fill this gap means less support for bus services which relieve congestion."

Local authorities should have powers to challenge moving traffic violations, he added.

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Between 2015 and 2018, the waiting time faced by each driver in Northumberland rose from 18.5 to 19.4 seconds for every mile travelled.

That's an increase of 4.9 per cent, compared to 9.6 per cent in the North East and 6.1 per cent nationwide.

Over the 12 months ending March 2019, the period with the latest statistics available, the average speed for vehicles travelling during the end-of-workday rush was 22.2 miles per hour.

This was slower than the busy morning commute – 23.6mph – and the middle of the day lull between peak times.

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A spokeswoman for the Department for Transport said the Government is spending more than £50bn to reduce congestion.

She added: "We also recognise the valuable role played by other modes of transport in reducing congestion – modernising our railways through a record £48 billion investment, tripling cycling and walking investment per head since 2010, and investing £2.5 billion through the Transforming Cities Fund to develop innovative public transport schemes in some of England's biggest cities."