The RAC is warning anyone planning to getaway this Easter to expect a long ‘Bad’ Friday.
Over five million motorists take to their cars for some well-earned time away, and face more jams on Easter Monday.
RAC Traffic Watch data shows a total of 16.8m car journeys will be made over the Easter weekend as people make the most of the long weekend visiting family and friends or enjoying a break in the spring weather somewhere different.
RAC spokesman Simon Williams said, “Easter traditionally sees the first big getaway of the year but this time we are expecting an unprecedented number of cars to be using major roads for leisure trips.
“Some years Maundy Thursday before the Easter weekend can be exceptionally busy but this year Good Friday is the day everyone seems to be planning to head off which is why we are warning people to expect it to be a long, mad ‘Bad’ Friday on the roads.”
RAC Traffic Watch data predicts Thursday’s leisure trip volume to be in the region of 3.3m with Saturday seeing 3.9 m journeys and Easter Sunday 4.2m. The peak day for return journeys will, of course, be the bank holiday Monday when we can expect 3.6m heavily packed cars to be heading for home. This means from Maundy Thursday to Bank Holiday Monday there will be over 20m cars using the country’s major roads either heading to or returning from getaway breaks.
One of the motorways most likely to be jammed is the M4 between Cardiff and Swansea, particularly through the 50mph restriction at Port Talbot, and at the end of the M4 at Pont Abraham.
