Bank holiday traffic chaos: RAC warns of gridlock as 17 million expected to hit the roads

More than 17 million car trips are expected this coming bank holiday weekend, the RAC has warned.
Drivers have been warned to set off early, to try to avoid chaos
Dave Thompson / PA
Sian Baldwin25 April 2023

Drivers could face traffic gridlock this coming weekend, with more than 17 million car trips expected to be made between Friday and Monday (April 28 to May 1).

Chaos is expected on the roads, with the RAC warning traffic will be busier this bank holiday than it will be for King Charles’s upcoming Coronation weekend.

Road experts say they are expecting around 17.2 million “leisure trips” will be made on Britain’s roads between Friday and Monday, with traffic peaking on Friday afternoon and early evening as Brits try to get away for the long weekend.

RAC chiefs say they are expecting traffic to be the busiest for an early May bank holiday weekend since 2016.

Drivers have been advised to set off earlier — before 11am on Friday — to avoid traffic chaos.

The pressure on the roads is also being made worse by railway works, meaning more people will be turning to their cars to make journeys — even shorter ones they would normally use trains for.

Network Rail will be carrying out more than 600 engineering works across the rail network, and London Euston — a route used often for travelling between the capital and northern cities — will be shut on Sunday.

Rod Dennis, a spokesman for the RAC, said many busy routes will also be affected by what happens with the “Great British weather”.

He said: “The weather might still be unseasonably chilly but this won’t stop drivers getting out and about over the double bank holiday weekends to make the most of some extra days off.

“If temperatures finally increase and the sun makes more of an appearance, we could well see many more people jumping in the car for a quick trip.

“In order to avoid any disappointment caused from cars letting everyone on board down, we urge drivers to check tyres, oil, and coolant levels as matters of priority before they hit the road.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in