Christmas getaway this year to hit all time-high

THIS year's Christmas getaway is expected to be the busiest on record, new figures suggest.

- NEIL LANCEFIELD

The AA forecast that traffic for all journey purposes in the run-up to December 25 will peak on Friday when about 24.4 million cars are expected on the UK’s roads.

A total of 37.5 million leisure trips by car are planned between Wednesday and Christmas Eve, the RAC estimated. That is the most in the week before Christmas Day since the company began recording the data in 2013.

Transport analytics company Inrix predicted there will be long delays on several major routes on Friday.

Many drivers leaving urban areas for their Christmas break will compete for road space with commuters. On Saturday and Christmas Eve, drivers are being warned the worst holdups will be between 11am and 7pm.

Among the expected Christmas getaway traffic hotspots are:

The M25 clockwise from Junction 15 to Junction 19, and from Junction 23 to Junction 28.

The M4 eastbound from Junction 29.

The M6 northbound from Junction 5 to Junction 10A, and from Junction 18 to Junction 24.

The M1 northbound from Junction 22 to Junction 26.

The M60 clockwise from Junction 7 to Junction 18. The AA said roads are expected to remain busy into the start of next week. Christmas Eve is anticipated to see a slight drop in journeys to 22.7 million, with an estimated 18.3 million cars on the road on Christmas Day.

The RAC forecast that December 24 will be the busiest day for leisure trips over the festive period, with 4.2 million of those journeys.