Pricey fuel drives Britons out of traffic jams

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - High fuel costs and a biting economic downturn are proving effective measures in cutting road congestion in Britain, a report showed on Wednesday.

Fewer people are opting to use their cars -- put off by petrol prices topping 120 pence per litre and diesel at as much as 140 pence per litre -- and those who do take to the roads drive more slowly to save fuel, the Trafficmaster report showed.

Congestion was 12 percent less in the first six months of 2008, compared with January to June 2007.

"Rising fuel prices and general economic concerns are making people think carefully about how they drive," said Georgina Read, a spokeswoman for Trafficmaster, a road monitoring company.

"The upshot of less traffic is a drop in congestion levels, meaning motorists can get from A to B quicker while travelling at lower and more economical speeds."

Using data collected from 7,500 cameras on major road and motorways across Britain, Trafficmaster found that in the year June 2007 to June 2008, congestion eased as opposed to worsening for the first time in the four years the study has been carried out.

The average speed on motorways slowed to 62.2 miles per hour from 63.3 miles per hour in the previous year, but journey times improved, with people shaving 0.3 percent off their travelling time.

According to European Union data, road congestion in the 27-nation bloc results in some 7,500 km (4,690 miles) of traffic jams for EU drivers every day.