Bank holiday weekend traffic to peak on Saturday, says RAC

Almost two million more getaway trips are likely to be made this August bank holiday weekend compared to the same time last year, data from the RAC suggests.

More than 14m drivers are set to make leisure trips from Friday (August 25) to Monday (August 28), with Saturday expected to be the busiest ‘getaway’ day of the weekend on the roads.

The RAC’s research suggests as many as 3.1m separate trips are due to be taken.

Friday is forecast to be the next busiest with 2.8m trips planned, followed by Sunday with 2.3m, while the bank holiday Monday is predicted to see 1.9m.

On top of these estimates are another 4.2m trips which will be made at some point over the course of the three-day weekend by drivers who have yet decide which day to travel on.

While the overall number of getaway trips due to be made over the August bank holiday weekend is 1.8m more than last year when fuel prices were at an all-time high, they are not as high as previous years when petrol and diesel were much cheaper.

The most popular destinations for the bank holiday weekend are: Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, followed by the West Country (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset), then Wales and Scotland jointly.

Transport experts Inrix are warning of longer-than-normal journeys on some key routes on Friday around 1pm with delays of 55 minutes on M1 North J12 to J16, 34 minutes on M25 anticlockwise J4 to J1, and 24 minutes on M4 East J29 to J24.

On Saturday, the worst delay will be 37 minutes on M5 South J15 to J23 around midday as drivers flood to the South West and on Sunday it will be 34 minutes on M1 South J16 to J6 for those travelling around 4.30pm. On bank holiday Monday around 2pm drivers on M5 North J25 to J15 can expect their journeys to take 30 minutes longer.

Innrix advises drivers to avoid using major roads between 10am and 7pm on Friday, between 10am and 3pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and between 10am and 4pm on Monday.

The best time to travel on Friday, Sunday and Monday is before 10am whereas on Saturday it’s after 3pm.

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Simon Williams said: “With fuel prices much lower than last summer’s record highs, it’s clear from our research that many more drivers are planning to make the most of what the UK has to offer over the last bank holiday of the summer. And if the weather is kind, even more people may decide to take trips swelling numbers on the road further still and possibly adding to the inevitable delays.

“Those looking to have uninterrupted journeys should aim to travel very early to beat the jams, or if that’s not possible, much later in the day if they’re planning to be travelling on Friday.”

Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at Inrix, added: “We expect this bank holiday weekend to be very busy on major roads, with Friday and Saturday seeing the longest delays compared to normal. While the most significant delays over the three days are going to be on the M25 and M1, routes to the West will inevitably be badly affected too.”