The arrival of Easter heralds the start of the spring bank holiday season when it sometimes feels like there is a bank holiday Monday every week. These public holidays always bring a rash of apocalyptic forecasts from the media on how congested the traffic will be as the UK public sets out on the traditional bank holiday ‘getaway’ and seeks to make the most of their time off.
While inevitably it is rarely as bad as they say it is going to be, there are steps that can be taken to avoid the times when it feels like the whole country is ‘on the move’!
Everyone loves to go away for a break, but these traffic pressure points can be problematic for companies trying to go about their daily business in a timely manner.
Here’s a few pointers on how to avoid getting caught up in getaway traffic.
- Traffic will always be busy on the Friday and weekend following schools breaking up for their holidays. The RAC estimates an average of 36.5m leisure journeys taking place in the first fortnight of the English and Welsh school summer holidays. These dates vary from area to area, but it is a good idea to check out when these are happening and how they could likely affect your trip. Also bear in mind that if your journey involves a major airport route, these will also be affected by school break up dates as families head off on holiday.
- Also remember that there will also be busy times following school holidays and half term, which is usually the Friday afternoon when people are travelling home.
- It is a good idea to keep a note of when the bank holidays are so you can plan – they have a tendency to ‘creep up’, particularly as the dates change every year!
- The main motoring organisation websites, such as the RAC Traffic Watch and the AA, include lists of predicted traffic hotspots for upcoming holiday periods. These will identify key the pressure points. Motorways usually affected include the M6 around Birmingham, M5 for the south west, M4 between Cardiff and Swansea, M3 for the south and south west, M25 for Heathrow and Gatwick airports and M55 between Preston and Blackpool, to name but a few.
Other key roads are A30 and A38 Exeter to Cornwall, A23/M23 to Brighton, A47 Swaffham to Great Yarmouth and the A14 between the Midlands and east coast. - Roadworks – in addition to the extra volume of traffic, roadworks can be a further headache and again, the RAC, AA and Highways England website will be a good source of information on what is happening and where.
- Try to delay your journey. This is a very good way of avoiding traffic bottlenecks. If you can set off later and avoid the busiest travel times, for example between 7am and 7pm. If you can travel outside of these times, it really does make a difference when trying to avoid the queues.
- Fill up on fuel before you set out. This saves having to make unplanned stops before you’ve reached your destination.
Everyone loves a bank holiday and with careful planning, it is possible to ensure that the traffic does impact upon your business.
UK Bank Holidays 2019
