Working in an office where my colleagues spend a lot of time out researching stories, taking pictures and visiting cutomers for advertising, not to mention tackling their daily commute, tales of traffic tailbacks and ridiculous journey times are legion.

In the first three months of any year, there always seem to be more roadworks under way, as projects planned earlier in the financial year come into being, and the money budgeted is spent, in time for the next round of bids for cash and the end-of-year spending deadline.

But what on earth is happening at the moment with the traffic in and around Trowbridge – and the rest of west Wiltshire?

Every time I go anywhere, my journey involves a wait at at least one set of temporary lights, or a queue in a line of traffic where a jam seems to have developed for no visible reason.

On Saturday, heading into town down the Devizes road I queued to get to the roundabout by the fire station. I found myself moving at a snail’s pace along County Way past Tesco, saw the traffic was still nose-to-tail up the hill on County Way and then had to wait almost 10 minutes to pull out after parking briefly on Newtown (thank you very much to the kind driver who finally took pity on my flashing indicator and paused to let me join the line of waiting cars).

Things were no better once I finally crawled round the Trinity Church roundabout, with traffic at a virtual standstill all the way down Stallard Street. A round trip to make a simple pick-up which should have taken 15 minutes at most took 45. No sign of an accident anywhere, and only one set of temporary lights to negotiate along the way.

Ironically, I went that way because I noticed earlier when I walked to the local Post Office that they were digging up the road at that junction too. Stupidly, I thought the main road route would have fewer delays.

I’m quite sure all the road repairs, housing developments, gas main works, water pipes being replaced and other things are completely necessary and are being done as fast as workmen can manage them, especially given the rotten weather which means they have to pump water out of their trenches every morning after the night’s storms. Pity they don’t always take the trouble to clear the nearest gutter and grid of fallen leaves so it reaches the drains without sending a torrent all down the road.

But the traffic delays they cause are having a very bad effect on many driver’s tempers, and leading to some horribly selfish behaviour as people jump amber and even red lights and ignore others trying to get out of side roads or their own driveways and pedestrians crossing the streets. Hurry up spring, when hopefully the works will be finished and we can all feel more cheerful.