THE A339 in Newbury has been named as one of the top three most congested roads in Britain during term time.
A survey by Trafficmaster revealed that journey times on the route are made 131% worse during rush hour when parents are driving their children to school.
The northbound route of the busy road ranked third in the country for increased congestion because of the school commute.
The worst road in the UK was the southbound A629 near Bradford, West Yorkshire, where the average rush hour journey time is 11 minutes to travel 2 miles. During term time the commute more than doubles, with journey times an average 28 minutes.
Philip Hale, spokesman for Trafficmaster, said: “Overall, four fifths of all our travel in Britain is by car, with average journeys being just six miles. School holidays reduce traffic on our roads by approximately 10%, from a combination of parents taking holidays and not driving their children to school, but the effects vary widely.
“It’s critical for other drivers to understand the local effects of this and avoid congested areas where possible, so as not to add to the problem."
Keith Ullyatt, spokesman for West Berkshire council, said the figures gave a clear message to parents to try and find an alternative to driving children to school.
He said: "We're doing much to encourage this, including promotions such as walk to school week, schemes where children get points then prizes for the number of times they walk to school, organisation of 'walking buses', and installation of 'safe routes to school' involving new footpaths, pedestrian crossings and traffic calming to improve safety for walkers."
He added that the council was engaged in ongoing campaigns to point out the benefits of walking, which include reducing the number of vehicles outside schools which can cause accidents, improving children's road sense, boosting health and fitness and reducing pollution.
He said: "The vast majority of children driven to school are those attending primary schools which are, in the majority of cases, a very acceptable walking distance from home.
"The overall aim has to be to reduce the number of car journeys on the road at peak times. Simply finding alternative routes does not do this, and can encourage rat-running."