MOTORISTS are accustomed to prolonged journeys and slow speeds on main roads across the conurbation due to congestion.

But just how slow does traffic move on the A roads in the BCP Council area?

One road in Poole recorded an average speed of just 11.5mph, while, unsurprisingly, the main dual carriageway in the conurbation, the A338, had the highest average speed.

The Department for Transport provides figures on the average vehicle speeds on locally managed A roads all over the country.

Average speeds are provided by council area as well as broken down by road.

While A roads in the Dorset Council area had the eighth highest average speed of authorities responsible for highways, BCP Council ranked at 92nd.

Dorset Council’s average speed was 34.1mph compared to 21.7mph for BCP Council.

Rutland in the East Midlands had the highest speed in England at 39mph, while the bottom of the chart is dominated by London boroughs, somewhat unsurprisingly.

Below is the average speed for the A roads in BCP Council and Dorset Council areas.

BCP Council

  • A338 – 35.8mph
  • A350 – 24mph
  • A349 – 23.9mph
  • A3049 – 22mph
  • A348 – 19.1mph
  • A341 – 18.6mph
  • A347 – 16.9mph
  • A35 – 15.7mph
  • A3060 – 14mph
  • A3040 – 11.5mph

Dorset Council

  • A338 – 52.9
  • A35 – 45.4
  • A37 – 44.8
  • A356 – 37.1
  • A3030 – 36.2
  • A352 – 35.4
  • A357 – 33.3
  • A354 – 33.2
  • A30 – 32.5
  • A350 – 31.2
  • A3066 – 30.8
  • A353 – 30.1
  • A351 – 24.9
  • A3052 – 22.6
  • A348 – 19.1
  • A347 – 18.8