Brits should avoid driving in peak travel times this Easter weekend with a record 21 million journeys expected to be made.
That’s according to the RAC, who expect this weekend to be the busiest Easter Bank holiday since records began back in 2014.
The travel experts say Good Friday is to be the busiest day of the weekend, with an estimated 4.62 million leisure trips expected to be made.
As a result, motorists are being urged to travel before 9 am and after 7 30pm to beat the worst of the traffic.
Brits are being urged to brace themselves for travel chaos
Steve Parsons
Bank Holiday Monday is expected to attract 3.96 million visitors, while Saturday and Sunday around 3.63 million journeys by car.
An additional estimated 5.6 million trips will be taken by drivers at some point between Friday and Monday, the RAC added.
It added that the M6 north between Liverpool and the Lake District, south towards Stoke-on-Trent, the M25 between Surrey and the M40 exit, and the A303 near Stonehenge are expected to be some of the busiest areas.
While rail closures are also expected to push even more people onto the roads.
RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis said: “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, and it’s very possible this weekend could turn out to be one of the busiest for leisure journeys for many years.
An estimated 21 million road journeys will be made this weekend
Steve Parsons
“Add in the impact of disruption on the rail network and one of the biggest fixtures of the sporting calendar taking place this weekend and you have all the ingredients needed for problems on the roads.
“Traffic volumes will likely be even higher if some warm spring sunshine makes an appearance.
“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 – although a fifth of drivers we 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.
“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.
“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.”
The warning comes as delays at airports across the UK.
On Wednesday, British Airways axed at least 53 flights planned for domestic or European routes to or from Heathrow, while easyJet cancelled 23 Gatwick flights.
Hundreds of UK flights have been cancelled in recent days.