More than 14m leisure journeys are expected to be made by car this Easter weekend when the bank holiday collides with most UK schools breaking up, according to a new study of drivers’ getaway plans from the RAC and INRIX.
Data indicates Good Friday could spell some of the worst delays for drivers as an estimated 2.6m getaway trips by car are due to be made on that day alone. This is 600,0000 more than the 2m journeys planned for both Thursday 28 March – the day many schools break up – and Easter Monday, and is up on volumes expected over Easter Saturday and Sunday with 2.3m separate trips each.
Meanwhile, an additional one-in-10 drivers (10%) are planning a trip over the long Easter weekend but are undecided exactly when they’ll hit the road, leading to an estimated 3.3m more trips staggered over these dates.
On Thursday, transport analytics specialists INRIX predict traffic to be heaviest between 2pm and 7pm as getaway traffic combines with people making regular commuting trips. The busiest route is expected to be the M25 in both directions between the M23 for Gatwick and the M1 in Hertfordshire from 4pm, with journeys on this stretch taking over two hours – more than double the usual time.
Meanwhile, on Good Friday, the lengthiest delays are expected between 11am and 3pm meaning drivers are advised to start their trips as early as possible in the morning or delay them until later the afternoon. Two popular routes for holidaymakers – the M5 southbound between Bristol and Taunton and M3 between the M25 and the south coast – are predicted to be affected by some of the longest jams, with journey times extending to one hour 48 minutes and two hours 18 minutes respectively – twice as long as usual.
For those spending the first full week of the Easter holidays away from home, the busiest route to return on will be the M5 northbound between Taunton and Bristol on Friday 5 April at 3pm, where it will take an estimated two and a half hours to travel.
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said, “With Easter falling earlier than usual at the start of the school holidays, it could be ‘carmageddon’ for holidaymakers. Anyone who can delay leaving on Thursday 28 March until much later in the evening or set off as early as possible on Good Friday is likely to have a better journey than those who travel during the peak periods of the day.
“On every journey there are key pinch points where you can save yourself lots of valuable time if you can get through before everyone else. This will be especially true over the whole Easter holidays as our research shows two-thirds (64%) of drivers will be making a leisure journey on major roads at some point.”
In Wales the holiday push is already underway after schools broke up last week but the data says the M4 will be busiest at these times:
Worst times to leave:
- Thursday 28 March at 5:15pm when journeys on the M4 westbound from Cardiff to Swansea are expected to take 43 minutes, 13 minutes longer than usual
- Friday 29 March at 12:30pm when journeys on the M4 eastbound from Swansea to Cardiff are expected to take 42 minutes, 12 minutes longer than usual
Worst times to return:
- Friday 5 April at 1:30pm when journeys on the M4 westbound from Swansea to Cardiff are expected to take 46 minutes, 10 minutes longer than usual
- Friday 12 April at 5:45pm when journeys on the M4 eastbound from Cardiff to Swansea are expected to take 57 minutes, 21 minutes longer than usual
