As we come to the end of the third week of Lockdown 3 I thought the statisticians would be interested in the traffic flow data gathered across Devon and the comparisons with Lockdowns 1 and 2.
During the first few days of the current lockdown 24hr traffic flows were around -30% compared with the equivalent days in the previous year.
Morning Peak Hour flows (7.00am to 9.00am) during these days were similar, at around -28%.
As a reminder:

  • 24hr weekday flows during Lockdown1 (23rd Mar to 10th May 2020) were around -70%
  • 24hr weekday flows during Lockdown 2 (5th Nov to 1st Dec 2020) were around -25%
  • 24hr weekday flows after Lockdown 2 (early Dec 2020) were around -11%

Therefore the initial Lockdown3 days reduced flows from -11% before Christmas to -30% .
With the current Covid-19 TV advertising campaign and regular Stay At Home messages going out the overall traffic flows on our ‘A’ roads is around -37% compared with the equivalent period in 2020.
Weekdays are around -33%, with Saturday -45% and Sunday -50%.
As for the Strategic Road Network, Highways England report that across the South West region as a whole Strategic Road Network flows are -43% for the week of Sun 3rd Jan to Sat 9th Jan, albeit that that week includes three days before Lockdown 3 had started.
They also report that during that week:
• M5 -41%
• A38 –35%
• A30 (W) -39%
• A30 (E) -41%
• A35 -41%
• A303 -44%

The average for the Strategic Road Network in Devon is around -40%, whereas Devon’s ‘A’ roads were -30% for the exact same period. The larger percentage reduction on the Strategic Road Network is similar to previous Lockdowns.
Average traffic flows for all vehicles in Great Britain as a whole are lower than those for Devon’s ‘A’ roads. This is probably due to higher Tier restrictions across much of the Country, possibly combined with occasional snow in some places.
With Covid numbers in Devon higher now than at any previous time every effort must be made to reduce car journeys to help reduce the R rate. Let’s get out of the stranglehold this killer virus has had on our lives for far too long by Staying Home, Protecting the NHS and Saving Lives.
The National data above comes from the DfT Transport Use report https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic#history