Region’s cities among most congested

Manchester is the country’s congestion capital, with commuters taking just under two hours to complete a 25.4 mile round trip, or an average of just 13.3mph.

At peak hours commuters in Bradford crawl along at just 14.2mph, while drivers in Sheffield travel at an average 15.3mph and Leeds 15.5mph.

The study by Direct Line found that the average driver travels 29.2 miles a day to get to and from work, although five per cent commute 100 miles or so daily. On average total drive time was an hour, but that could rise dramatically when roads were heavily jammed.

Head of Direct Line car insurance Steve Price said: “The working day is far from nine to five for commuters who drive to the office.

“When drivers frequently experience long queues and are worried about being late getting to work, it is easy to get frustrated by the situation. Checking your route before leaving home, pre-warning your boss when you know traffic is bad or having a flexible working agreement in place can all help to reduce the stresses and strains of driving to work.”

Despite the long hours commuters spend in their cars, many feel there’s no other choice. Almost a third say there is no other feasible way of getting to work.