Hello Stokkie, It's odd but a current Google Earth pic shows hardly any traffic on the M5 even if you zoom in, a few cars here and there waiting to join the island.
Those of us who were around in the 1960's and working in Birmingham centre will remember traffic jams everywhere at peak times, as bad then as now because back then the sudden explosion of car ownership left roads and junctions totally unprepared. Double yellow lines appeared in the early 60's but there were no traffic wardens then and cars were randomly parked blocking narrow streets and causing chaos.
When I started work in 1961 just one workmate had a vehicle, a battered old van, a couple of others had mopeds etc. but by 1965 the companies small car park couldn't cope and I and all the others had my cars and before long
View attachment 171564 parking meters appeared in the road outside our works in Bow St, Horsefair. My route home to where I lived then at Rednal was up the Bristol Rd & it was a slow crawl up though Selly Oak and then Northfield followed by the chaos of the Austin swarming out at Longbridge after 4.30.