Measured by National Highways roadside sensors
How much time do you save by driving at a quieter hour?
1.6 minutes
On the typical road, a 20-mile weekday morning drive takes 1.6 minutes less at the quietest hour between 06:00 and 10:00 than at the slowest. The biggest saving is on the M32: 6 minutes over 20 miles (06:00 against 08:00). On the typical road that is about 6 hours a year for one weekday morning trip. Measured between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026.
The evidence
Every road in the comparison| Road | Slowest hour | Quietest hour | Minutes saved over 20 miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| M32 | 08:00, 42 mph | 06:00, 54 mph | 6.4 |
| M18 | 08:00, 49 mph | 06:00, 65 mph | 5.9 |
| M60 | 08:00, 46 mph | 06:00, 59 mph | 5.9 |
| M61 | 07:00, 52 mph | 06:00, 62 mph | 3.7 |
| M55 | 08:00, 52 mph | 06:00, 61 mph | 3.4 |
| M62 | 07:00, 53 mph | 06:00, 60 mph | 2.7 |
| A2 | 07:00, 49 mph | 10:00, 55 mph | 2.6 |
| M27 | 08:00, 56 mph | 06:00, 63 mph | 2.5 |
| M67 | 07:00, 50 mph | 06:00, 55 mph | 2.3 |
| M25 | 07:00, 50 mph | 06:00, 55 mph | 2.2 |
| A1 | 07:00, 52 mph | 06:00, 58 mph | 2.2 |
| M56 | 08:00, 57 mph | 06:00, 64 mph | 2.1 |
| A14 | 08:00, 49 mph | 06:00, 54 mph | 1.9 |
| M42 | 08:00, 53 mph | 06:00, 58 mph | 1.8 |
| M54 | 07:00, 51 mph | 06:00, 55 mph | 1.7 |
| A27 | 08:00, 58 mph | 06:00, 63 mph | 1.7 |
| M602 | 08:00, 56 mph | 06:00, 60 mph | 1.6 |
| M5 | 08:00, 56 mph | 06:00, 61 mph | 1.6 |
| M6 | 08:00, 52 mph | 06:00, 56 mph | 1.5 |
| M4 | 07:00, 55 mph | 06:00, 59 mph | 1.5 |
| M11 | 08:00, 53 mph | 06:00, 57 mph | 1.4 |
| A1(M) | 07:00, 55 mph | 06:00, 57 mph | 1.1 |
| M621 | 08:00, 59 mph | 06:00, 63 mph | 1.0 |
| M65 | 09:00, 58 mph | 06:00, 61 mph | 1.0 |
| M1 | 08:00, 55 mph | 06:00, 58 mph | 1.0 |
| M40 | 10:00, 55 mph | 06:00, 58 mph | 1.0 |
| M66 | 07:00, 57 mph | 06:00, 60 mph | 1.0 |
| M69 | 10:00, 52 mph | 06:00, 54 mph | 0.8 |
| A42 | 07:00, 57 mph | 06:00, 59 mph | 0.7 |
| M23 | 10:00, 58 mph | 06:00, 60 mph | 0.7 |
| M20 | 07:00, 54 mph | 06:00, 55 mph | 0.7 |
| M2 | 10:00, 51 mph | 06:00, 52 mph | 0.6 |
| M3 | 08:00, 59 mph | 06:00, 61 mph | 0.6 |
| M49 | 10:00, 63 mph | 07:00, 65 mph | 0.6 |
| A3 | 10:00, 63 mph | 08:00, 65 mph | 0.4 |
How this is worked out
Average speed of each weekday hour from 06:00 to 10:00, Monday to Friday averaged; minutes = 20 miles at that speed. Real journeys also include junctions and slip roads, so treat these as the motorway part of a trip. Measured by National Highways roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026 on 35 roads with at least 5 sensors each. Each figure is the typical (median) road, so one unusual road cannot decide it. Typical patterns from the archive, not live traffic. The full method.