UK rush hour traffic
Cars queue in The Mall in London. Reuters

Drivers in Britain spend more than a day stuck in rush hour traffic each year at an individual cost of over £1,000, research has shown.

According to traffic information supplier Inrix, British drivers wasted an average of 31 hours in traffic last year. When the cost of wasted fuel and working time was factored in, the research found the average cost of being stuck in traffic was £1,168.

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Unsurprisingly, London was the worst British city in terms of traffic, with drivers in the capital spending 74 hours a year stuck in a jam, an hour more than in 2016.

The city was ranked as the second most congested location in Europe after Moscow. Los Angeles topped the rankings worldwide, with drivers spending an average of 102 hours stuck in traffic each year.

Britain was the world's 10th most congested country in 2016, some way behind Thailand, which was ranked as the worst nation in the world for traffic jams.

Manchester came behind London, albeit its average of 39 hours was almost half of that recorded in the capital. Lincoln and Birmingham followed.

North of the border, drivers in Edinburgh and Aberdeen lost 28 hours a year in traffic while with 24 hours a year lost to traffic jams, Newport was the most congested city in Wales and Belfast topped the list in Northern Ireland.

"The cost of congestion is astonishing," said Graham Cookson, Inrix chief economist.

"It takes billions out of the economy and impacts businesses and individuals.

"The average figure for London is £2,430. That's many times more than what it costs me to insure my car and the cost of the fuel I put in it."

The Department for Transport said it was investing £23bn in road schemes to reduce congestion. Cookson urged the government to adopt an innovative approach to tackle the issue.

"Increased flexible working or road charges have potential, however transport authorities should be looking to exciting developments in data analytics and artificial intelligence which promise to reinvent our approach to traffic management," he added.