Bank Holiday traffic: Motorists warned they face worst getaway in three years

Warning: Motorists were told to expect problems on the roads
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
John Dunne @jhdunne27 May 2016

Holidaymakers on the roads this bank holiday were today warned they face the heaviest traffic in three years.

More than 15 million journeys will be made over the weekend, as forecasts of good weather encourage more people than usual to join the getaway.

The RAC predicts 3.9 million trips today, 4.5 million tomorrow, 3.6 million on Sunday and 3.3 million on Monday.

Motorists are being advised to set off on their journeys after 7.30pm this evening to avoid the worst of the expected delays.

In a bid to cope with the increased traffic levels, Highways England has promised to minimise congestion by postponing 600 miles of roadworks over the weekend — leaving 97.4 percent of routes free from disruption.

The RAC said: “The late spring getaway is a little more appealing to motorists this year than last.”

Train users will also face disruption due to Network Rail engineering work over the three-day period from tomorrow — with 30 projects in London, the South-East and South-West — as well as ongoing Thameslink work at London Bridge station.

Some parts of Britain are forecast to be hotter than Madrid, adding to the number of families heading off for a break. London is expected to reach 22C tomorrow and Sunday, with sunshine broken up by only a few showers.

UK drivers planning trips across the Channel were today advised to cancel them as fuel pumps in France ran dry and violent industrial action against employment reform spread.

Up to half of France’s 12,000 petrol stations are now empty and riot police were sent in to try to lift blockades of fuel refineries. The north and north-west are particularly badly affected.

Breakdown recovery firms said some holidaying drivers had already been stranded and the RAC has advised that trips should be cancelled unless a vehicle has fuel for the entire journey.

It said: “Anyone currently in France will struggle to find fuel for their return journey and probably shouldn’t even attempt to get home unless they can do so on one tank.”

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