TRAFFIC congestion cost British business £1.8 billion in time, resources and lost appointments in the third quarter of 1997, according to new figures from Trafficmaster. And the Milton Keynes-based company has calculated that a staggering 6,663 working years or 38,380,000 man-hours were wasted in three months of jams across the country during July, August and September.

The new figures come as the RAC also says that a severe traffic crisis is looming with warnings of post-millennium gridlock and claims that virtual reality was, in many areas of business, about to become reality.

Trafficmaster's findings, contained in the fourth edition of the company's Motorway Congestion Index, have been published just weeks after the Government pledged to curb traffic growth as the latest National Road Traffic Forecasts predicted worsening congestion over the next 20 years (Fleet News October 24).

The report predicted road traffic would increase by 38% by 2016, increasing average journey times and reducing the amount of road space per vehicle. In the worst case scenario, traffic would increase by 84% by 2031 with average journey times doubling on urban motorways.