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May Bank holiday: the best time to hit the road

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
28/04/2017

The Bank Holiday scramble will see motorists make more than 10 million separate journeys. Here are the best times to travel, according to the RAC.

With the extra day’s holiday, millions of drivers will hit the road to take advantage of the longer weekend.

According to RAC’s Traffic Watch, the majority of car trips – more than three million – will take place on May Day itself.

It said there’s some indication that Friday won’t see as much traffic mayhem as in previous years with nearly two million leisure journeys planned, while 2.5 million journeys are expected to be completed on both Saturday and Sunday.

Best time to travel by car

According to the RAC, these are the best times to travel over the May Bank holiday:

  • Friday 28 April: before 4pm and after 8pm.
  • Saturday 29 April: before 10am and after 3pm.
  • Sunday 30 April: before 10am and after 3pm.
  • Monday 1 May: before noon and after 6pm.

RAC traffic spokesman, Rod Dennis, said: “With Easter just a fortnight ago, for many people the May Day bank holiday may have come as something of a pleasant surprise. Certainly our figures show that many of us will be packing up the car to enjoy a trip to see friends or family, with the vast majority of leisure journeys expected on Bank Holiday Monday itself – which suggests day trips and drivers returning after a short break will be responsible for much of the traffic.

“We strongly recommend anyone travelling a fair distance gives their car a quick once over before setting out – check your car’s coolant and oil levels, the state of its tyres and make sure you have topped up with washer fluid. All of these things can dramatically cut the chances of a breakdown at the side of the road.”