Motorists now accept traffic jams as a way of life and prefer to find a way round them by car rather switch to alternative transport, according to the RAC Report on Motoring 2002, which was published this week.

The report shows that drivers generally choose to leave earlier (24%), take different routes (22%) or change their journey times (18%) rather than use public transport. Where the report asked motorists to focus on a specific one month period of travel, if congestion prevented them using the car for a journey, 43% abandoned the trip altogether rather than choosing alternative transport.

The report finds that motorists generally perceive congestion as a major problem for UK towns and cities. Asked to rate it on a scale of 0-3, with 3 indicating "very serious", they assess congestion in London at 2.8 and other major cities at 2.4. They also accept that congestion is primarily caused by "too many cars" and that they could, in principle, switch some of their journeys to other modes of transport or simply not make them at all.

But the report demonstrates that motorists' perceptions of general UK congestion, do not reflect their own day-to-day experiences. For example, most drivers rate the impact of congestion on their own motoring as far less significant than they believe it is for other people. Despite motorists accepting that, in principle, they could reduce congestion by travelling more by public transport or walking, many could not or would not identify a regular weekly car journey which they could give up altogether (29%) or where they could switch to public transport (41%). And no less than 83% of motorists are convinced they would find it difficult to adjust their lifestyle to being without a car.

With such entrenched reluctance to abandon their cars, motorists' preferred options for tackling congestion are making public transport more attractive (41%), building new roads or widening existing ones (20%) and removing roadworks (15%). Only 5% of those questioned felt that "congestion charging", for city centres for example, was the best solution for reducing congestion. However, faced with plans for a £5 tax for entering Central London and the imminent opening of the "M6 Toll" motorway in North Birmingham, 50% of motorists said they would be prepared to spend £1.50 on average to save 20 minutes on a long journey and £1.10 to cut 10 minutes from their regular journey to work.

RAC Group Marketing Director Ken Lee said: "While we remain a car dependent society, it is worrying that we have come to accept congestion as a way of life and will generally remain in our cars rather than seek alternatives. It seems that many drivers view congestion as other motorists' problem, while finding car-based solutions to traffic jams for themselves rather than seeking alternative methods of travel."

Lee continued: "The report highlights the continuing task faced by the government, local authorities and other interest groups to persuade motorists to use alternative methods of transport to reduce congestion. Even with the introduction of congestion charging, motorists are still indicating that until public transport is made an attractive alternative, they would rather use their cars."

RAC REPORT ON MOTORING 2002 - Congestion Facts

The causes

• 83% of motorists remain committed to their cars.
• 36% of motorists would use their car less if public transport were better - unchanged from 2001.
• Congestion affects 83% of motorists in some way - and the public expect it to get worse.
• 29% of motorists simply put up with congestion and do nothing to avoid it.
• Typically congestion adds around a third to journey times and a fifth to the annual cost of running a car.
• Motorists generally perceive congestion as a very serious problem. Using a scale of 0-3 where 3 is very serious, London rated 2.8. However Londoners only rated the problem at 1.5 when asked how congestion affected them personally.
• Motorists generally rate congestion in major cities at 2.4, but rate the personal affects at 1.2.
• 74% of Londoners did agreed congestion at peak time was a serious problem, as opposed to 58% in the South East and 49% in the Midlands. These findings are almost identical to the recently released Office of National Statistics Survey on personal travel conducted for DTLR.
• 41% of motorists claim too many cars on the road as the main cause of congestion. 18% blame roadworks, 10% blame public transport, 10% the school run.
• 74% of teenage pre-drivers already consider themselves reliant on a car. 89% want to drive as soon as they turn 17.
• 44% of motorists allow for delays caused by congestion when they set out on most journeys of over 10 miles. Only 29% are confident to set off without making any provision at any time (from 41% in 1997).
• Drivers adjust to unexpected delays on their journey - 24% leave more time and 22% choose other routes.

The solutions

• When asked how they actually overcome congestion, only 2% of motorists mentioned using public transport, 6% used 'an alternative to their car' and 22% felt they 'could' use a bus or train more.
• 41% perceive improved public transport as a solution to congestion, 20% prefer road building and 14% removing bottlenecks or building flyovers.
• 53% of motorists suggest they are prepared to pay to save 20 minutes on a 2 hour journey, 39% to save 10 minutes on a 30 minute commute.
• A further 12% of motorists see home working as a potential alternative to commuting, in addition to the 8% who already do so.