i also agree on everything said so far. i lived on continental europe for 4 years so know how driving standards and road quality differ from some countries there to here as well as anybody.

i'll rephrase my question - would british drivers be prepared to pay to drive on roads that have less traffic?

as that is essentially what happens in a lot of france. not saying that the driving standards are nothing to do with it as they clearly are, just trying to add to the discussion. the m6 toll is an example in this country. it's a road that goes the same place as another, but you can pay to go on it to avoid a lot of traffic. that doesn't necessarily mean that you get a better quality of driver on there, but it helps that you can go around them more easily.