Manchester city centre is the UK's second slowest place to drive, study claims

Manchester city centre is the UK's second slowest place to drive, figures have revealed. New analysis has outlined which areas in the world are the slowest for drivers.

The data showed that in Manchester, journeys at a distance of 6.2 miles (10 km) took 23 minutes and 30 seconds to complete by road, making it the second slowest in the whole of the UK.

London ranked as the world's slowest city because of 'widespread 20mph speed limits', with the same distance taking an average of 37 minutes and 20 seconds to complete, according to location technology company TomTom.

Try MEN Premium now with our amazing New Year offer... just click here to give it a try.

This was the longest time among the 387 cities across 55 countries analysed, putting London top of the slow city centre ranking for the second year in a row. In the second spot was Irish capital Dublin, followed by Toronto, Milan, and Lima.

In the UK, Manchester was ranked second, followed by Liverpool, Bristol and then Edinburgh. Travel times increased last year in 21 of the 25 UK cities analysed. TomTom based its analysis on journeys in a 5km radius of city centres.

It comes as the current 30mph speed limit on the Mancunian Way (A57M) could become permanent after a year of temporary restrictions. The limit was lowered a year ago from 50mph to 30mph on a trial basis after council officials reviewed the safety of the road, which is one of Greater Manchester’s busiest.

The road is known for becoming gridlocked in peak times, expected to worsen and cause major delays over the coming weeks due to closures for safety inspections to take place.