The Department for Transport has revealed that the UK's roads were less congested in the first quarter of 2013 than they were in the corresponding months in 2012.

Provisional figures released by the body have shown overall traffic fell by 2.3 per cent during the three-month period.

The statistics made for particularly good reading for logistics companies, as they suggested HGV traffic dropped by 3.8 per cent to 3.7 billion vehicle miles.

This is very encouraging, as gridlocked roads cost the haulage industry billions of pounds each year.

Car congestion fell by 1.9 per cent and light goods vehicle traffic also declined by the same amount.

Minor roads accounted for the bulk of the improvements, with traffic falling by 2.5 per cent on rural routes and 2.9 per cent on urban roads. Motorways recorded a far more modest reduction, as congestion was down by 0.7 per cent year-on-year.