Britain’s roads are bracing for their busiest summer getaway in four years, with the RAC estimating 14.1 million motorists will embark on holiday or day trips between Friday and Sunday.
The 14.1 million figure is the second-highest since the RAC began tracking data in 2016, exceeded only by 18.8 million in 2022 following eased Covid restrictions.
This surge coincides with the end of the academic year for most schools in England and Wales, with Scotland and Northern Ireland already on holiday.
Saturday is predicted as the peak travel day, with 3.8 million getaway journeys planned.
Friday and Sunday will also be exceptionally busy, each seeing an estimated 3.4 million vehicles on the move.
A further 6.8 million trips will be spread across the three-day period, with drivers unsure which exact day they will hit the road.
The RAC warned that south-west and north-west England are likely to see the most leisure traffic.
Transport analytics company Inrix identified a number of likely congestion hotspots, including:
- The M1 southbound from Junction 16 (Northampton) to Junction 6 (Watford).
- The M25 clockwise from Junction 15 (the M4) to Junction 19 (Watford).
- The M25 anticlockwise from Junction 17 (Maple Cross) to Junction 12 (the M3).
- The M60 clockwise from Junction 7 (Altrincham) to Junction 18 (the M62).
- The M4 westbound from Junction 22 (the Severn Crossing) to Junction 35 (Bridgend).
Drivers embarking on getaway road journeys will be hit by fuel prices being much higher than a year ago.
Filling a 55-litre family car costs an additional £8.90 for petrol and £21.20 for diesel, based on average prices.
RAC breakdown spokesperson Harriet Hernando said many families are choosing a UK holiday rather than an overseas break this summer, which she suggested could be caused by issues such as flight disruption, EU border delays and household budgets being squeezed by the Iran war.
She went on: “Drivers should be ready for the Saturday summer scramble and plan their journeys, thinking about setting off earlier or later in the day to avoid traffic jams.
“People should prepare for delays and getting stuck in a jam in potentially very hot weather.
“People should carry plenty of water, as well as suncream and an umbrella to provide shade.”
The concern over border delays related to the EU’s Entry Exit System (EES).
The system, rolled out fully in April, involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.
For most UK travellers, the process is done at foreign airports, but it is also carried out at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel’s Folkestone terminal and London St Pancras railway station.
Many passengers have spent hours stuck in EES queues in recent months.
The EU has rejected widespread calls from the travel industry to suspend the system until September amid fears delays will worsen during the peak summer holiday season.
