Driving home for Christmas: When is the best time to set off to avoid the queues?
Are you driving home for christmas this week? You're not alone! UK drivers are predicted to make around twenty one million leisure trips between Monday 18th December and Christmas Eve, with around thirteen million of those from Friday to Sunday. It comes as transport analysers warn of daily delays on Britains busiest roads.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00 It's the busiest time of year on Britain's roads this week, with 21 million journeys
00:07 expected as people set off to visit friends and family at Christmas time.
00:11 The RAC said getaway traffic will climb slowly at the start of the week, before jumping from
00:16 2.2 million trips on Thursday to 3.2 million on Friday, the last working day before Christmas
00:21 Day.
00:22 Some 13.5 million leisure journeys by car are expected between Friday and Christmas
00:26 Eve, up 20 per cent on the equivalent period last year.
00:30 But congestion is likely to peak on Friday, as drivers embarking on getaway trips compete
00:34 for road space with commuters and business traffic.
00:37 During the weekend before Christmas, between 12pm and 2pm is expected to be the busiest
00:41 time to travel on the roads, so drivers are advised to set out before 11am or after 6pm
00:47 to reduce their chance of being stuck in long queues.
00:49 RAC spokeswoman Alice Simpson advised drivers to carry out vehicle checks before setting
00:53 off, such as tyres, fuel, oil, coolant and screen wash.
00:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]