Drivers in England face having to drive at just 13mph

Drivers in a major UK city face having to drive at just 13mph, it has been revealed. A new national study has revealed motorists who have sat in gridlocked traffic in Brighton are the worst affected by slow speed limits and crawling queues.

Research analysing statistics from the National Highways National Traffic Information Service on the average speed of all drivers on every 'A’ road in England ranked motorists in Brighton and Hove, on the south coast, as the slowest in the country.

Data tracking the speed all drivers in local authorities across the country between 2019 and 2023 revealed Brighton and Hove drivers are the slowest in England, with an average speed of just 13mph. London was omitted from the study - due to the high number of 20-mile-per-hour zones and general congestion.

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The local authorities in England with the slowest drivers are ranked Reading - 13.6mph in Berkshire in second, followed by Nottingham - 13.8mph in the East Midlands in third. Southampton -14.3mph - was fourth in the country, with Berkshire town Slough - 14.9mph - fifth.

Manchester - 15.9mph, Bristol - 16.2mph, Plymouth - 16.3mph, Liverpool - 16.4mph and Kingston upon Hull - 16.5mph completed the top 10. The study by car parts marketplace Ovoko analysed data from the National Highways National Traffic Information Service, which collected the average speed of all drivers between 2019 and 2023 for every A road in England to see which local authorities had the slowest drivers.

Ovoko said: “From this data, it’s clear that driving the speed limit, particularly in major cities, is challenging, as most of the entries are big cities with lots of urban space. With public transport being the obvious alternative in many places, it’s either that or you find yourself filling up your car to roll around at an average of below 15 miles per hour.

"However, many urban areas are beginning to enforce 20 miles per hour speed limits on all roads for general safety reasons, and as this becomes more common it’ll be worth noting whether average speeds come down across the country.”