With average driving speeds falling in some of the UK’s major cities, nightmare commutes could soon become a daily occurrence. Find out if yours could be one of them…

Is this what’s waiting for you on your commute?
A recent survey by In-car Cleverness revealed London has the slowest average driving speeds in the UK within five miles of the city centre – claiming the top stop for the UK’s worst commute. With an average speed of just 8.34mph in 2017, a decrease of 1.24mph from 2016, future commutes aren’t looking fun for those working in the capital.
Within city limits, a mile of the centre, speeds in London average at a sluggish average of little above 5mph in 2017, a decrease of 1.22mph from 2016.
It’s not only London commuters suffering, Manchester and Edinburgh are also feeling the effects of increasing traffic volumes – Department for Transport data shows that between April 2016 and March 2017, traffic volumes rose by 1.7%.
Driving speeds in the centre of Manchester have fallen by nearly 2mph in just a year, with an average of just over 6mph.
Is your commute getting slower?
Within one mile of the city centre
City | 2016 average (mph) | 2017 average (mph) |
2016 difference (mph)
|
Birmingham | 9.03 | 8.9 | -0.13 |
London | 6.35 | 5.13 | -1.22 |
Manchester | 8.14 | 6.57 | -1.57 |
Leeds | 11.58 | 11.25 | -0.33 |
Glasgow | 8.56 | 6.82 | -1.74 |
Sheffield | 11.04 | 10.44 | -0.59 |
Bradford | 9.48 | 10.08 | 0.61 |
Edinburgh | 6.89 | 6.64 | -0.25 |
Liverpool | 8.1 | 7.34 | -0.76 |
Bristol | 8.69 | 7.73 | -0.96 |
Within five miles of the city centre
Cities | 2016 average (mph) | 2017 average (mph) | 2016 difference (mph) |
Birmingham | 13.66 | 12.5 | -1.15 |
London | 9.58 | 8.34 | -1.24 |
Manchester | 12.41 | 12.15 | -0.26 |
Leeds | 14.67 | 15.2 | 0.53 |
Glasgow | 15.14 | 15.79 | 0.65 |
Sheffield | 13.44 | 13.28 | -0.16 |
Bradford | 12.77 | 12.89 | 0.12 |
Edinburgh | 12.74 | 12.38 | -0.36 |
Liverpool | 13 | 13.12 | 0.12 |
Bristol | 12.87 | 12.82 | -0.05 |