For families, bank holiday weekends are one of the best times of years for families, the long weekends are a perfect chance to get away – and you don’t need to book time off work!
However, bank holidays often lead to a surge in traffic as millions of people seek advantage of the extended weekend to travel, visit family or enjoy a short break. This spike in leisure travel, combined with roadworks and increased pressure to travel on key routes like the M25, M6 and M5, causes widespread congestion, especially during peak times.
Thankfully the team at garage.co.uk have offered their expert tips on how you can avoid the traffic this bank holiday weekend.
Timing is key!
“Traffic is bad in most cities’ day to day and bank holidays amplify this problem. The key to avoiding peak times is to leave early or later in the day. If you’re visiting a particularly popular area of the country, such as the Lake District, North Wales or Cornwall there is no harm in hitting the road between 5-6am to avoid peak times. During bank holidays traffic is usually worse in the afternoon, so avoid travelling mid-day if you can.”
Smart Route Planning
“Live traffic apps will be your best friend when it comes to getting away for the weekend. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps can reroute you in real time to avoid traffic jams, which could end up saving you hours off your journey. Digital maps also flag any road works!”
“Traffic is typically heaviest on motorways during bank holidays. If you can avoid long stretches of motorways, this could save you time – however make sure you don’t end up stuck down narrow country lanes.”
Travel in Zen Mode
“Traffic brings out the worst in people, from shouting to swearing, tempers can be flared. Make sure to pack snacks, drinks and have a good playlist at the ready in case you do find that the roads are busy, these will ease your journey and reduce your stress. If you can, try to break up your trip with a scenic stop or pub lunch around the halfway point – make the journey part of the fun!”
Plan Around Events
“Theres nothing worse than getting on the road and realising you have been caught in traffic for an event that you aren’t even attending, Festivals, sports games and parades can choke up an entire town or city. If you are travelling around the outskirts of a city, double check to see if there are any events going on which could add to the local traffic, this way you can see if you need to adapt your route or change your timings.”
For more information about garage.co.uk please visit https://www.garage.co.uk/