October Half Term holiday congestion warnings

As the autumn half term break approaches, Trafficmaster predicts that Friday 23rd October 2009 – the traditional “Black Friday” seen at the start of the autumn half term break in England and Wales - is expected to be one of the worst days on the roads for congestion this year.

“There are many different factors affecting traffic congestion at the moment,” said Graham Smith, Data Manager, at Trafficmaster. “There has been an increase in congestion on some major routes usually associated with high levels of HGV movement, whilst the effects of the school run have added to journey times in the vicinity of urban areas.”

“Combined with the expected increase in traffic levels at the start of the half term break – the last chance for many families for a break before Christmas, the last Friday of Summer Time, and the possibility of variable weather conditions, and we could see some of the worst congestion of the year.”

Trafficmaster expects to see the getaway traffic start to build from 10.00am onwards on Friday 23 October, with the heaviest traffic expected from 3.00pm onwards on the main routes. Some of these are likely to remain busy until early afternoon on Saturday 24 October.

“Some consolation for motorists is that commuter routes are likely to be much quieter than usual during the following week with no school runs, although the evening peak time will be mainly in darkness” added Graham Smith. “The return run from the half term holidays is also expected to be spread over a few days but the heaviest traffic is likely to be seen from about 3.00pm on Sunday 1 November as many start for home while it’s still daylight.”

The routes Trafficmaster expects to be the most congested on “Black Friday” will see around a 20% increase in congestion, compared to a normal Friday. Drivers should expect their journeys to take longer than usual for a Friday, and allow plenty of time for their journeys.

Trafficmaster’s top ten congestion hotspots for Black Friday are:

M25 Western Sector
M6 Through the West Midlands and up to the North West
A303 Through Wiltshire and Dorset
A3 To Hindhead
A11 & A14 To Elveden and East Anglia
M5 To the South West
M3 & A31 Towards Hampshire and the Dorset coast
M4 Between London and Bristol and between the Severn Bridge and Cardiff
M56 & A55 Into North Wales
M6 & M55 To the Lake District and Blackpool

For more information about Trafficmaster go to trafficmaster.co.uk