BRITAIN is Europe's worst place for driving.

Our roads are the most congested in Europe a depressing thought for everyone who feels that they spend a fortune to be mobile . . . and then discover that they're spending their lives in traffic jams.

Worse still, we haven't got a solution, and even if we had, it would cost millions and take decades.

For the moment, the best answer could be ETA alias Electronic Traffic Avoid-ance.

This is Toyota's system for providing the driver with the latest traffic information.

It is fed into the satellite navigation system, and a display on the standard dash warns the driver of a traffic problem along with a way around jams or snarl-ups even if the driver is a stranger to the area.

ETA receives coded traffic info 24 hours a day via an FM signal which is picked up even when the car radio is switched off.

Messages from various nationwide monitoring services including the police give the driver advance warning of incidents and congestion.

If the driver is following a route using the sat-nav system, ETA will automatically offer an 'avoid traffic' option and work out a new route around the problem.

And if the driver is not using the sat-nav when the warning is received, simply plotting a destination into the system will trigger the 'avoid traffic' function.

Toyota says the system which will be standard on best-selling Avensis models and an option on others will help the driver in several ways: by saving time, reducing stress and avoiding wasting petrol in traffic jams.

It also requires no additional handsets or annual subscription fees.