WHITE van man is becoming the new king of the road thanks to the boom in online shopping, new government figures have shown.
Vans generated almost a third of the extra traffic on Britain's roads over the last decade, and now account for more than one in eight vehicles.
Van traffic increased by 4.6 per cent between 2006 and 2007, and by 40 per cent over the last ten ye
ars.
Delivering internet- ordered goods to consumers' home, vans were also responsible for the greatest increase in traffic on minor roads in both urban and rural areas.
Internet shopping has more than doubled over the last decade, and increased by 28 per cent between 2006 and 2007 alone.
Vans have also become larger, with the number of "panel vans" nearly doubling since 1997, while there were almost 10 per cent fewer of the smaller, "car-derived" variety.
Overall, traffic increased last year by 1.1 per cent and by 14 per cent since 1997.
Less than half of car drivers now break 30mph limits, compared with 70 per cent a decade ago.
Edmund King, president of the AA, said: "These figures show that, as a nation, we are dependent on cars, although traffic growth for cars has perhaps reached a plateau.
"The growth of white van man continues, with light-van traffic growing at a faster pace. This reflects the growth of the service economy, although we would expect this to slow in the current economic climate."
The full article contains 256 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
