Economic crisis has positive congestion side effects

Trafficmaster, a leading provider of real-time traffic information in the UK, has said the current economic situation will have a positive impact on road congestion.

Every year, the Friday before the autumn half term break is the worst day for congestion on British roads.

However, Trafficmaster believes this will not be the case this year. Congestion has been falling month on month, with an average 27 per cent decrease in September alone year-on-year.

This means that the day usually dubbed 'Black Friday' will be less problematic than in previous years.

Trafficmaster says it doesn't foresee as many major hold-ups, although travelling on this won't necessarily be plain sailing.

Georgina Read of Trafficmaster commented: "Predicting traffic levels this year is not a black and white situation.

"We have seen a continuous fall in congestion over the last 12 months, caused by a decrease in the number of journeys.

"Under the current economic climate, we expect fewer people to take advantage of this autumn break and many will cut back on holiday travel. We see this year's Black Friday as a more indistinctive Grey Friday."