Great Western Coffee Shop

The Friday before Christmas is one of the busiest days of the year for traffic, with drivers being warned to expect long delays. On a normal day, the average person in this country spends an hour a day travelling, with most of their journeys made by car. These charts tell the story of Britain's roads.

1. The vast majority of our journeys are by car

Back in 1952, less than 30% of distance travelled in Britain was by car, van or taxi. 42% was by bus or coach, and 17% by train. As people got richer and cars got cheaper, the picture changed rapidly.

By 1970, three-quarters of all passenger kilometres were by private vehicle. The proportion reached 85% in the late 1980s and has stayed roughly constant since then - as has the total distance driven each year. Travel by bus and coach is in long-term decline, accounting for just 4% of total distance travelled in 2016, a tenth of the figure of the early 1950s. Away from the roads, rail fell to a low of 5% in the mid-1990s but has steadily increased - it's 10% now.

The average amount of time each person spends travelling each day is about one hour, and surprisingly this has been fairly constant since the 1960s. But average speeds have increased, especially for rail, so people can go further in the same amount of time. This means people are commuting greater distances, especially in the crowded south-east of England.