Drivers are urged to avoid ‘Frantic Friday’
DRIVERS are being urged to avoid travelling on “Frantic Friday”, when the last of the year’s commuter traffic will clash with the Christmas getaway.
Leisure journeys will peak at 1.87 million on Christmas Eve but December 22 is expected to see the worst delays, as people driving home from work battle for road space with 1.25m motorists visiting friends and family, according to RAC figures.
The worst hold-ups are expected between 4pm and 8pm.
An estimated 11.5m leisure trips will be made by car between December 17 and Christmas Eve but this will be eclipsed by the 17.5m between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as people take advantage of post-Christmas sales in shops.
Driving will cost more this winter, as rising fuel prices mean filling up a typical family petrol or diesel car is around £3 more expensive compared with 2016.
RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis said: “Things tend to get worse on the last working day before Christmas, with ‘Frantic Friday’ this year falling on December 22.
“We strongly urge drivers planning long journeys to avoid this day if they possibly can.
“We’re then expecting pre-Christmas leisure trips to peak on Christmas Eve, with getaway traffic combining with the inevitable dashes to the shops for last-minute Christmas presents.”
And the number of cars on the road could be even higher than normal, due to a series of strikes by rail workers which threaten to reduce services on a number of days throughout the festive period.
Some 260 engineering projects on the railway will also disrupt journeys.
Many of Britain’s mainline routes will be partially shut as Network Rail carries out its biggest-ever Christmas investment programme.
Great Western Railway is urging passengers to complete journeys by Saturday “at the latest”, as London Paddington will be closed between Christmas Eve and December 27.
Coach operator National Express is running its largest-ever Christmas schedule to meet increased demand from key locations including Cardiff as well as Bournemouth, Leeds, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester.
It is adding nearly 30,000 extra seats to services between Monday and January 2, with Christmas Day bookings up by almost a quarter on last year.