Road Transport figures from the Department for Transport show that car traffic reached a new peak in 2015.

Road safety charity, Brake, highlighted the report which showed the number of vehicle miles travelled grew by 1.1% in 2015, to 247.7 billion - beating the previous record in 2007.

Overall traffic has increased by almost 19% since 1995 but van traffic has continued to grow more quickly than any other vehicle type, rising 4.2% from 2014 levels.

Lorry traffic saw the largest year-on-year increase since the 1980s, growing by 3.7% from 2014.

Motorway use has now increased by 10% in the last ten years and in 2015 saw 66.5 billion vehicle miles of traffic, 2.6% more than in 2014.

Brake warns that increases in traffic on the road network can mean a greater number of interactions of vehicles and pedestrians and, therefore, increases the likelihood of crashes occurring.

However, per mile travelled, the risk of being killed or seriously injured in a road crash has fallen almost every year since 1949 but there was a slight increase in 2014.

Alice Bailey, campaigns adviser for Brake, said: “These new figures show our message of ‘drive less live more’ is more pertinent than ever. We have record car usage in the UK along with all the congestion and pollution this brings.

“More traffic means more risks to vulnerable road users and danger to the health of both individuals and the planet. To see a reduction in levels of vehicle use, we need everyone to seriously consider if they really need to make that journey by car and always walk, cycle or use public transport if they can.”

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