iStock.com/Jaroslaw Kilian

We all know traffic jams are frustrating, but it's not often we see the financial impact of all those wasted hours.

But new research by traffic information supplier Inrix has put a figure on it: £37.7billion.

That's how much money is taken out of the UK economy by traffic congestion, according to the organisation.

British drivers spent an average of 31 hours sitting in traffic jams last year.

London motorists fared worst, spending 74 hours in traffic, a whole hour more than in 2016.

In Europe, only Muscovite drivers had a worse time; An average of 91 hours was spent waiting in traffic by motorists in the Russian capital.

Back in the UK, Manchester was the second most congested (39), followed by Birmingham (36) and Luton (29).

But even in less populated areas, congestion was pretty bad. Both Aberdeen and Edinburgh motorists saw 28 hours of their lives lost in traffic jams. In Wales, Newport drivers lost the most (25 hours), while Belfast took the Northern Ireland accolade (21 hours).

Globally, the most congested city last year was Los Angeles, where drivers lost an average of 102 hours - nearly four days.

The report estimated how much money drivers lost by sitting in traffic. In the UK, drivers saw an average of £1,168 go up in exhaust smoke - a figure arrived at by combining driving costs and lost time.

The worst road in the UK was the A406 northbound from Chiswick roundabout to Hangar Lane. On that stretch, 56 hours were lost by each driver in 2017.

The Department for Transport has pledged £23bn for road improvement schemes, but some commentators say this doesn't go far enough.

Even automotive groups are aware of the need for low-cost, practical alternatives to the motor car.

And with rail ticket prices seeing their biggest rise in five years in January, that low-cost, practical transport is not going be the train.