Provisional traffic figures released by the DfT show light goods vehicles continued to outstrip other vehicle categories last year in terms of mileage growth.
The figures suggest goods vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes GVW racked up 42.9 billion miles in the UK during 2013 – up nearly 4% on 2012 and 66% higher than in 1993.
In comparison, heavy goods vehicles accounted for 15.7 billion miles last year, up 0.9% on 2012 and a 4% increase on 1993; while car and taxi traffic totalled 242 billion miles, up 0.8% on 2012 and just over 15% up on 1993.
Malcolm Bingham, head of road network management policy at the FTA, said the rise in light goods vehicle usage remained a concern, given that van operators are not subject to the same regulation as HGV operators.
"When somebody buys a van and just runs it to death, it just doesn’t give the industry a good reputation," he said.
There are also issues about the degree of enforcement the DVSA (formerly Vosa) is able to bring to bear on such vehicles, said Bingham. "They [DVSA] need funding to increase that activity," he said. "But there’s a growing understanding of it, and that’s encouraging."
