Unpredictable economy means Grey Friday for half term holiday

Traditionally the Friday before the start of the school’s autumn half term break has been titled as ‘Black Friday’, because it is measured as the year’s worst day for congestion on the roads. However this year Trafficmaster - the UK’s leading provider of real-time traffic information - forecasts an unpredictable Friday as congestion levels fall.

This year Trafficmaster has seen a fall in congestion month on month, with September seeing an average 27% decrease in the number of congestion alerts across the country compared to the same period in 2007. This reduction in congestion, along with the credit crunch and general economic uncertainty, will mean the volume of traffic and the number of delays will be unpredictable and they are not expected to be as high as previous Black Friday’s.

This year’s Black Fridays will fall on the 17th and 24th of October, due to staggered school holidays, with the latter date being the worst day. Although Trafficmaster doesn’t foresee as many major hold-ups as usual, it will still be one of the worst days of the year on the roads.

Trafficmaster spokesperson, Georgina Read, comments: “Predicting traffic levels this year is not a black and white situation. We have seen a continuous fall in congestion over the last 12 months, caused by a decrease in the number of journeys. Under the current economic climate, we expect fewer people to take advantage of this autumn break and many will cut back on holiday travel. We see this year’s Black Friday as a more indistinctive Grey Friday.”

With over 18 years of monitoring the UK’s roads, Trafficmaster records that the Friday before the school October half term holiday, is typically riddled with more severe traffic delays than any other day of the week across the year, as many people use this time to take a holiday before the end of the year. Traffic problems are caused because there is a marked mix of commuter and holiday traffic, which occurs over a short time span in the day. In addition a combination of changeable weather and darker nights triggers an increase in road incidents and impacts the traffic flow.

The sections of roads that Trafficmaster expects to be the most congested will see around a 25% increase in the number of traffic delays, compared to a normal Friday. This could add another 20 minutes on journey times. The top ten ‘Grey Friday’ hotspots are:

Road - Section of Road

M25 - Between Junction 10 and Junction 21
M25 - Between Junction 27 and Junction 21
M1 - Between Junction 6a and Junction 13
M6 - Between Junction 11a and Junction 21
M1 - Between Junction 23 and Junction 30
M6 - Between Junction 4 and Junction 11
M8 - Between Junction 10 and Junction 25
A1 - Between Peterborough and Markham Moore
A34 - Between Oxford and M4
M60 - Between Junction 12 and Junction 19