Defying every driver’s perception of worsening traffic conditions, a survey has shown that road congestion is actually easing.

Trafficmaster, which monitors traffic flow across the UK, has recorded an average 3% reduction in congestion levels between 2004 and 2005. The biggest drop was on notoriously busy sections of the M1 in the East Midlands, where congestion dropped by 5%.

The fall coincides with a 20% increase in the price of fuel from an average of £3.62 per gallon in January to £4.35 in September. “High fuel prices will have had an impact,” said Paul Watters of the AA Motoring Trust. “Some people may have switched to public transport or cut unnecessary journeys. It could also reflect a downturn in the economy.”

Another factor is a fall in new car sales, down by 3.2% last month to their lowest level in five years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Motoring groups say the government’s plans to introduce road pricing should now be shelved as motorists are already being deterred from non-essential journeys.

Congestion remained particularly high in the southeast and the West Midlands, however. On the M6 in Birmingham congestion increased by 75% in October following a price rise on the new M6 toll road from £3 to £3.50 in the summer.

Summer time is safer, say experts

While the UK enjoyed an extra hour in bed this morning, safety campaigners were renewing their calls for British summer time to be extended throughout the year.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says an extra hour of daylight could prevent more than 450 deaths and serious injuries every year. It is calling on the government to launch a three-year trial to extend British summer time throughout the winter months. Clocks would then move forward another hour in summer, bringing the UK into line with central Europe, including France and Germany, throughout the year.

At present clocks are put back one hour to Greenwich mean time (GMT) at the end of October. RoSPA claims the resulting darker afternoons are causing about 130 deaths and 330 serious injuries on UK roads, based on findings by the Transport Research Laboratory in 1998. In 2004 road deaths rose from 269 in October to 300 in November and 323 in December. Pedestrian deaths also rose from 56 in October to 76 in November, according to Department for Transport figures.

A previous trial from 1968 to 1971, when the UK remained one hour ahead of GMT, saw an overall reduction in road casualties.

A spokesman for the DfT said it had no current plans to adopt RoSPA’s suggestions but added: “The department recognises there may be potential road safety benefits in advancing the clocks by one hour in both summer and winter. However, any amendment would need to have full regard to the effects on business, health and safety issues and on social and community life.”

Toyota set to be global No 1

Toyota will officially take over from General Motors next year as the world’s biggest car company. With a boastfulness uncharacteristic of traditional Japanese business style, executives in Tokyo have revealed plans to increase output by 11% in 2006 and produce more than 9.2m vehicles in the next financial year. While Toyota is expanding, GM, which produced 9.1m vehicles last year, forecast a 20,000 fall in production.

Toyota is already the most profitable car maker in the world, worth $160 billion to GM’s $16 billion. It has stolen a march by making cars that hardly ever go wrong and trucks with a reputation for indestructibility, especially in countries where repair shops are few. It has also pioneered hybrid petrol-electric vehicles such as the Prius. Toyota plans new plants in Thailand, Russia, China and America. By contrast GM has been hit by costly plant closures and falling sales of its big-engined sport utility vehicles after the global hike in oil prices. Rick Wagoner, GM’s chief executive, has said the company could shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

A spokesman for Toyota GB last week tried to play down the unexpected bravado of his Japanese bosses. “We have not made an official announcement about next year’s plans,” he said.

“But we have built a reputation for quality which means those who buy a Toyota keep coming back.”