Commuter traffic and business travel will clash with festive driver trips from this week, potentially bringing ‘getaway gridlock’ on the roads.
An estimated 29.3 million getaway journeys will be made this year in the run-up to Christmas Day – the highest number since 2013 – according to RAC research.
And with Christmas falling mid-week this year, the figures suggest there will be an extended period of ‘pre-Christmas panic’ on the roads, with 5.7 million trips being taken this Wednesday and Thursday alone.
The true festive getaway kicks off on ‘Frantic Friday’ 20 December with an expected three million trips and then jumps to 3.7 million on 21 December – dubbed by the RAC as ‘Snarl-up Saturday’.
Sunday 22 December looks set to see 2.9 million journeys, but the RAC’s research also reveals a further 4.7 million trips are expected at some point between 20 and 22 December from motorists who are undecided on which day they’ll travel.
However, the busiest single day for getaways is predicted to be Christmas Eve, with 3.8 million separate getaway journeys expected by car in addition to the final flurries of commuter traffic – nearly 800,000 more than the day before (23 December – three million).
To make matters even worse, there are a further 2.5 million motorists who intend to travel at some point on either 23 or 24 December.
Transport analytics specialist Inrix has also warned of lengthy jams this coming weekend.
On Friday, queues of more than 45 minutes are likely in the evening on the M3 in Surrey and Hampshire, between the M25 in west London and the south coast, and on the M25 anticlockwise from the junction with the M1 near Watford to the M23 for Gatwick Airport as drivers leave the capital for the south coast or jet off for some winter sun.
Further north, the M53 northbound from Chester to Liverpool will be worst affected by delays during home-time traffic this Friday, when drivers going home from work share the roads with those starting their getaway trips.
On both ‘Frantic Friday’ and ‘Snarl-up Saturday’, the worst time to travel along major routes will be between 1pm and 7pm, with both the RAC and Inrix suggesting drivers set off early in the morning, or later in the evening when the heaviest of the traffic should have subsided.
Boxing Day looks set to see an additional 4.4 million trips while 3.8 million trips are expected on Friday 27 December, as many people continue the festivities or head home. Drivers should try to avoid major roads during the hours of 10am to 3pm, which is when journeys are expected to take significantly longer than usual. With railway engineering work taking place at Liverpool Street, Paddington and St Pancras over Christmas and New Year, major roads to and from London are likely to be impacted. Major signalling work in Crewe and Cambridge will also affect services across the North West and East of England, meaning roads in these areas could also be much busier than usual.
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “Our research suggests that with Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year, many drivers will be squeezing in their getaway trips right up until the big day itself. While the getaway starts to ramp up from Friday, ‘Snarl-up Saturday’ looks particularly challenging as does Christmas Eve. Travelling outside peak hours might be the only way drivers miss the worst of the jams. Planned rail strikes are also likely to add to the misery.
“There’s also no sign of traffic letting up throughout the Christmas period especially as there are major rail engineering works taking place on routes into London and Cheshire. It’s well worth drivers being aware of these and the knock-on effect they’ll have on the roads as the affected lines serve larger areas across the South West, South East and North West.”
