Accidents main cause of jams
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• Accidents, not roadworks, are the main cause of traffic jams, accounting for 60% of major incidents in the First half of the year. And overturned vehicles, spillages and shed loads caused a further 15% of the top-20 hold ups, according to an AA Roadwatch survey of over 170,000 incidents.
Traffic jams are getting worse, caused by a combination of accidents, roadworks and poor weather conditions, it reports.
The South-East and Midlands are the country's worst black spots, accounting for 35 of the top-40 incidents. But Scotland and the North-West both reported the biggest increase (13%) in serious hold-ups in the six months to July. The AA suggests taking alternative routes on regular runs to ovoid congestion. For example, drivers travelling between central London and Gatwick Airport on the A23 and M23 will typically encounter two-and-a-half times more incidents than on the A217.