Weekend traffic warning ahead of summer holiday getaway

Traffic levels will rise significantly this weekend as the end of the school term sparks the traditional British summer holiday getaway.

The peak of the weekend’s travel will be on Saturday (July 22) with 3.4m heavily laden vehicles making a dash for it, according to data from RAC Traffic Watch. Friday will see 2.5m cars vie for road space with commuters, while Sunday will have more leisure drivers with 2.8m vehicles expected to be en route to their holiday destinations or simply making the most of a warm July weekend.

Based on the travel plans of over 3,100 UK motorists, the RAC predicts there will be as many as 36.5m leisure journeys made over the 17-day period from Friday (July 21) to Sunday August 6, but no one day will see more holiday traffic than this Saturday (July 22) which marks the beginning of the six-week summer school holidays for most families.

RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis said: “This weekend will bring unwelcome customary chaos to Britain’s major roads as people flock to take advantage of the first week or two of the summer holidays on home soil.

“While not as busy as Easter, which is typically the pinnacle of leisure traffic due to it being the first break for several months, the Great British summer holiday getaway begins with an initial rush for the roads this weekend as that’s when the majority of schools break up. But, unlike any other time of year, the country’s major tourist routes will remain steadily busy through the rest of the six weeks, never more so than at the weekend with traffic toing and froing from major holiday locations.”

Long tailbacks are inevitable, particularly in the South West on the M5 which is the main conduit to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall – although for drivers heading into Cornwall the opening of a new stretch of dual carriageway on the A30 west of Temple should give some relief to the queues, says the RAC.

Dennis continued: “The best advice is always to try to travel when the vast majority of motorists aren’t – very early in the morning or late in the evening, but for many, of course, this is just not possible, nor practical. So if you are one vehicle in the 3.4m making a leisure journey on Saturday a healthy dose of patience is going to be required, and keeping everyone in the car happy will be key to that.

“Family in-car entertainment aside, there’s nothing worse than suffering an unexpected breakdown en route to your holiday destination so carrying out some basic vehicle checks before setting out might just help avoid a bad start to that well-earned summer break.”

2017 summer holiday getaway leisure journeys by car this coming weekend