Car travel on Britain's roads has dropped to about two-thirds of the normal level since the new British blockade began, government figures show.Recorded automobile traffic dropped to 67% of normal pre-pandemic volume when the restrictions came last Thursday, dropping to 57% on Sunday, before climbing to 70% on Monday. During the previous block, the figure dropped to 22%.
The Department of Transport (DfT) has been publishing daily data since March.Prior to the second blockade, car journeys in Britain had recovered from about 80% to 90% of pre-pandemic levels.Under the new rules in England, which will last until December 2, people are asked to "avoid" non-essential journeys, which always threatened to affect the use of cars more than commercial vehicles.
But, unlike in March, the สล็อตออนไลน์ schools remained open, adding to the morning and afternoon trips.The DfT statistics - published for Britain as a whole, rather than nation-by-nation - show that the recorded use of roads by heavy vehicles has not declined.Van journeys, however, are slightly below pre-lockout levels.AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said:One aspect of the blockade that has been repeated this second time is the deserted evening streets, as closed pubs, restaurants and leisure facilities leave little reason to go out at night.
He warned that this would be more likely to "lead to increased encounters between drivers and wildlife" lulled into "a false sense of security" by quieter roads, and asked motorists "to be even more alert than usual.The start of Wales' nine-day Covid circuit breaker on 23 October, which also resulted in travel restrictions, was not accompanied by a noticeable overall decline in car use across Britain, the DfT data.There was, however, a slight decline during the following week, the mid-term holiday in many parts of England and Wales.Transport Scotland's advice remains to continue working from home if possible and to "stay in place" when shopping and using the services.
Under the five-tier restriction system to tackle Covid, which went into effect in Scotland last week, areas at tier 4, the highest, would be subject to additional transport restrictions. But no part of Scotland still falls into this category.England accounts for around 87% of the British population, meaning changes in regulations are likely to have a more significant effect on the overall DfT figure than any other in Scotland or Wales.The department's analysis is based on approximately 275 automatic traffic counting sites.