The RAC is warning drivers heading away for Christmas of three key roads that are problem routes and could face delays over the coming days as motorists try and getaway for the festive period
The RAC has urged Christmas getaway travellers to avoid three major roads, which have been named as problem routes.
The RAC is pleading drivers heading away for Christmas to “be patient” on the roads, and have highlighted the M25, M4 and M5 as “crunch points” for possible delays.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Anyone travelling now, I’m looking at the maps, you’ve got a lot of the road largely to yourself.
“But we are expecting things to build up through the course of the morning … If you’re packing up now, this is a good time to travel. There’s a core of about 11 o’clock this morning and between about four and six this afternoon, that’s the core time where we expect the traffic to be heavier.”
When asked if there are particular crunch points of delays the RAC is worried about, Mr Dennis added: “Yeah, I wouldn’t say worried about. I think this is the thing people are going to be well used to, where they’re not able to tear all the cones out and open all the lanes.
“Obviously there’s stretches of the northern part of the M25, part of the M4, the M5, a lot of routes people use for the sorts of journeys they’re going to make ahead of Christmas where they just can’t open all the lanes back up again. So, there’s those to bear in mind.
“What we’re saying to people is just be patient. These are journeys that matter to us this time of year. Just don’t expect to get there the minute your sat-nav says it will. Allow yourself a bit of time to make it easy and get there safely.”
The RAC predicts that 29.3m Christmas getaway journeys will be made by drivers to see their friends and family in the run up to Christmas Day. This would be the highest number since 2013.
Nearly half that number (14.3m) will be across this weekend, December 21 to 22, according to new data from the RAC and transport analytics specialists, INRIX.
Tomorrow, December 22, RAC’s research suggests there will be 2.9m journeys.
The busiest single day for getaways is predicted to be Christmas Eve, with 3.8m separate getaway journeys expected by car in addition to the final flurries of commuter traffic. Around 2.5m motorists are undecided on when to travel, but will do between December 23 and 24.
Dubbed ‘Snarl-up Saturday’, on December 22 RAC expects to see key routes such as 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 M11 near Watford to the M23 for Gatwick Airport become busy, as drivers leave the capital for the south coast or jet off elsewhere, for some winter sun.
The worst time to travel along major routes will be between 1pm and 7pm, with both the RAC and INRIX suggesting drivers should set off early in the morning, or later in the evening when the heaviest of the traffic should have passed.
After Christmas Day, there is also set to be an additional 4.4m trips on Boxing Day and 3.8m trips on Friday December 27. The RAC is advising drivers to 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 popular train stations such as Liverpool Street, Paddington and St Pancras undergoing engineering works over Christmas and the New Year, major roads to and from London are likely to be affected.
The RAC also asked drivers why they favoured using their car to head away for the festive period, and more than half said it was due to their car offering more flexibility and convenience. Other travellers (35 per cent) said that their journey would take too long on public transport and a third said that public transport also wasn’t a viable option, as they had too many people travelling in their group or too much luggage.
Three-in-10 (31 per cent) believe driving is cheaper than public transport, while one-in-10 (12 per cent) are concerned about bad weather delaying or cancelling their journey if they opted for public transport.
