Pump up the jam Drivers plan bank holiday getaways - despite fuel prices

Drivers are being warned to expect congestion on major routes this weekend as millions of people embark on bank holiday getaway trips— despite the surge in fuel prices.

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Slow-moving traffic on the M42 south of Birmingham ahead of the May bank holiday weekend. Photo: Jacob King/PA Wire

(Jacob King/PA Wire)

The RAC estimated that 19 million leisure trips will take place by car between Friday and Monday, an increase of one million from last year’s spring bank holiday.

Today and tomorrow are likely to see the heaviest getaway traffic, with 3.8 million drivers planning a trip each day.

There are expected to be 3.4 million leisure journeys on Sunday, and 3.1 million on Monday.

A further 3.4 million people intend to take a trip some time between today and Monday but have not decided exactly when.

Transport analytics company Inrix said the worst jams will be on the M1, M5, M6 and M25.

Today, the M25, anticlockwise from Junction 10 to Junction 6 is expected to see the heaviest traffic at about 4.45pm as many people finish work.

The same stretch of road is likely to see a second spike at lunchtime tomorrow, with journey times more than twice as long as normal.

Queues of 45 minutes are expected at midday tomorrow on the M5, southbound from Junction 16 near Bristol to Junction 23 for Bridgwater.