A perfect storm of rail strikes, low petrol prices and a bank holiday weekend has led to warnings of travel chaos today.
Forty per cent of the nation’s cars will be on the roads over the weekend, with the worst congestion this evening, the AA predicts. More than 13 million drivers are expected to take leisure trips — an increase of four million from last year.
A strike on the First Great Western rail network will add to pressure on roads in the West Country, while Greater Anglia services will be reduced by track upgrades around Ilford.
The price of petrol has been falling — a litre of unleaded cost an average of 113.2p this month compared with 129.7p last August — encouraging motorists to get behind the wheel.
About 248 miles of motorway will be closed because of roadworks, despite Highways England suspending work on 400 miles of road to cope with the deluge of bank holiday drivers. Affected roads include the M4 near Reading, the M4 near Newbury, the M3 near Basingstoke, the M1 at Derby and Nottingham, the M1 near Luton, the M6 at Birmingham and M5 near Droitwich.
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Holiday routes will start to get busy from lunchtime as some people leave work early in an effort to beat the jams, with the average trip about 90 miles.
Air and sea travel will also be affected. Airports are anticipating their busiest weekend of the year so far, with Gatwick expecting 580,000 passengers, up 17 per cent on the same weekend in 2009.
The number of people coming through Dover is expected to be twice that on the usual weekend. The port expects some 161,734 inbound passengers over the bank holiday, compared with 82,837 on a normal weekend.
The RAC warned motorists to take action to prevent potential breakdowns. A spokesman said: “We tend to see an increase in engine-related breakdowns at this time of year, with many cars suffering from ignition coil, head gasket and cam belt issues, along with radiator cooling and overheating problems due to congestion and extended journey times.
“Be sure to check water, oil and coolant levels before you set off and top up as necessary — and check your tyre pressures.”