Drivers are being warned to brace themselves for the busiest Easter bank holiday roads since records began.
Experts are predicting a weekend of travel chaos as millions of Brits plan trips, and have revealed the two optimal windows of time to leave home in order to give yourself the best chance not to get stuck on the roads.
The RAC said drivers are collectively planning an estimated 21.46million leisure journeys by car this weekend, the highest number for an Easter bank holiday since the RAC first started tracking motorists’ plans in 2014.
One option for drivers wanting to avoid the worst of the traffic is to wait until after 7:30pm to travel, with the highest numbers of cars on the roads predicted to be at either end of the long weekend.
“It’s very possible this weekend could turn out to be one of the busiest for leisure journeys for many years,” warned RAC traffic spokesperson Rod Dennis.
“After two years of relatively quiet Easter bank holidays on the roads, our research suggests a return to traffic levels that are much more typical of this time of year.”
As well as starting journeys in the evening, drivers are also being advised to set off early in order to beat the traffic.
“The key to avoiding the worst of any jams is planning. Put simply, the earlier you leave in the morning the more likely you are to miss the worst of the queues, especially if you are travelling a longer distance,” Rod explained.
However RAC research also showed a fifth of drivers polled said they were planning on driving shorter distances this Easter, specifically because of the extremely high cost of petrol and diesel at the moment.
Good Friday – the first bank holiday since the start of the year – looks set to be the single busiest day of the long weekend with drivers planning in the region of 4.62m separate leisure trips, followed by bank holiday Monday (3.96m) with Saturday and Sunday each seeing around 3.63m journeys by car.
An additional estimated 5.6m trips will be taken by drivers at some point between Friday and Monday.
Drivers also face a slew of other challenges that could wreck their journey plans. The Easter getaway likely to be made worse by the impact of closures to some parts of the railway network.
Major engineering work between London and Birmingham is likely to push more people onto the roads, including those making their way from Manchester and Liverpool to Wembley to watch the semi-final of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Expected rail strikes in Scotland and the north of England could also make matters worse.
“As well as leading to queues of traffic, vehicle breakdowns also have the potential to ruin the long weekend for drivers and anyone they’re travelling with, so we’re urging people to make sure they’re vehicles are ‘road-ready’ before setting out,” added Rod.
“This is even more important for anyone travelling longer distances than they have for several months. A breakdown is much less likely if a car’s oil and coolant levels, as well as tyre pressure and tread depth, have all been checked before setting out.”
Bob Pishue, INRIX Transportation Analyst, said: “Even with a significant increase in petrol prices, we expect a large jump in holiday driving compared to the last few years.
"Drivers should expect congestion on major roadways around urban areas and popular destinations. Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic.”
National Highways customer services director Melanie Clarke said: “This is the first bank holiday of the year, so we expect the roads to be busy with people looking to make the most of a long weekend.
"To help keep disruption to a minimum, we’re lifting more than a thousand of miles of roadworks.
“The last thing anybody wants on the way to their destination is to have a vehicle breakdown. That’s why it’s really important people spend a few minutes checking the condition of their tyres before setting off.”
