00:00Now, have you noticed the traffic in the West Midlands getting much worse?
00:05Longer queues, slower journeys and delays that seem to appear at any time of the day.
00:11Whether you're driving to work, doing the school run or trying to get across the city,
00:15congestion is something many people say they're dealing with more often.
00:20New data suggests pressure on the region's roads remains high,
00:24but what really matters is how it feels day to day.
00:28It's definitely getting much, much harder to drive around the West Midlands.
00:32It's filled with uninsured drivers.
00:35The police have recently reduced all speed limits around the area from a 40 to a 30.
00:41I actually got a speeding ticket today.
00:44Where was that?
00:45The Fort Parkway, which has always been a 40.
00:49They've reduced the speed to a 30 with the smallest signs possible,
00:55basically just trying to cop people out and make money.
00:58I mean, if you have a look at the cars driving around and the way that people are acting on the road,
01:04it's pretty disgraceful, to be fair.
01:07And, I mean, the traffic everywhere is absolutely terrible.
01:10Well, Anne has kindly joined me.
01:13We're looking at traffic and getting around the West Midlands.
01:15What do you find it like at the moment?
01:17I find it quite hard going, actually.
01:20And there's an awful lot of roadworks, and that's the worst bit about it, that's holding everything up.
01:25And sometimes they'll have roadworks at this road, so you think, oh, I'll go through,
01:30and there'll be roads at that road, and so on and so forth.
01:33Finally, the lovely Denise and Bridget are with me.
01:36We're talking about the roads.
01:38Have you noticed them getting worse travelling around the city?
01:41Yes, terrible.
01:42Just coming here, I was a wreck when I got into the pub.
01:46Somebody had come over on a red light.
01:49If I hadn't have stopped there and waited for the car to stop,
01:53I'd have been underneath it.
01:56And what's it like getting around the region?
01:58Oh, it's really bad.
02:00It's, you know, it's bumper to bumper.
02:03The potholes are terrible.
02:05It's just got worse than worse.
02:07Nobody indicates anymore to let you know where they're going.
02:10Analysts estimate drivers in the city lose dozens of hours each year sitting in traffic,
02:16with average journey times edging up in recent years.
02:19At the same time, official transport figures show more miles are being driven
02:24across the West Midlands than before.
02:27That only adds pressure to busy routes, particularly at peak times.
02:31While the figures suggest congestion across Birmingham and the West Midlands remains high,
02:36the reality can feel very different depending on where you live and when you travel.
02:42For some, traffic is an occasional frustration.
02:44For others, it's a daily issue that affects work, family life and stress levels.
02:50As we've heard, many people feel something needs to change
02:54to make getting around the region easier and more predictable.
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