Worst time to travel this bank holiday weekend revealed as 17MILLION to hit roads – check your route
THE worst time to travel over the Easter bank holiday has been revealed - as a whopping 17 million drivers are expected to hit the roads.
As Brits gear up to travel around the UK for the long weekend, it's important to know the best routes.
Motoring services company RAC has revealed that the May Day weekend is still set to produce more traffic than 2024 – with over 17 million getaway trips by car planned.
The experts estimate the busiest day will be Friday, with as many as three million journeys expected.
Saturday could see 2.9million, and 2.8million are predicted on the Monday.
Meanwhile the least amount of travel is due on Sunday with just 2.4million trips.
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RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “Although the Easter break was just two weeks ago, our figures suggest this weekend will still be hectic on the roads as millions take advantage of another bank holiday.
“This week’s very warm weather may not last right into the weekend, but with lots of daylight hours, there’s still plenty of opportunity to get out and about.
“For drivers that have a choice, it’s best to avoid Friday evening as that’s when leisure traffic will clash with commuter journeys.
“It takes just minutes to check that a vehicle’s oil, coolant and screenwash are all at the right levels before your trip, and it’s equally important to ensure all tyres are damage-free, have plenty of tread and are inflated properly.
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“Anyone towing a caravan or trailer should check over these tyres as well.”
“If you face a flat battery or a problem with your brakes on your staycation, there’s no need to waste precious minutes of your holiday looking for a local garage.
"An RAC Mobile Mechanic can be booked to repair your vehicle on the driveway of your accommodation, completing any fixes you might need and any diagnostic checks.”
HOT TO TROT
It comes after the bank holiday weekend kicked off with the warmest start to May on record.
The recent warm spell is the hottest start to the month since records began - and temperatures could go even higher.
A temperature of 28C was recorded at Kew Gardens, in South-West London yesterday afternoon.
The previous record for May Day was 27.4C recorded at Lossiemouth, Moray, on May 1, 1990.
Last summer wasn't even close to being this hot, with the average temperature only being 14C.
It was the coolest summer since 2015, which saw average temps of 13C.
The Met Office said in a post on X: "With the temperature at Kew Gardens reaching 28C and still climbing, it is now officially the warmest start to May on record for the UK.
"The previous May 1st record high temperature was 27.4C at Lossiemouth in Scotland in 1990."
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Met Office Meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “High pressure sat over the UK for the first two weeks of April as well as the last week, with low pressure bringing some unsettled weather in the middle. This has meant temperatures have been above average, and rainfall, for most, has been below.