Holiday Traffic: Major Route From Sussex Expected To Jam Up

Travel experts have named a major route out of Sussex as likely to endure three out of the four worst traffic jams in England during the Christmas break.

According to Inrix and the RAC, between Friday 22nd December and Christmas Eve (24th December), delays of around 40 minutes can be expected daily on the M25 clockwise between the end of the M23 from Sussex, and the M40 motorway route to Birmingham and the north-west.

This will, therefore, directly affect all traffic heading from Sussex via the London Orbital Motorway to the Midlands, the West Country and the North.

Drivers heading anti-clockwise on the same days should also prepare themselves for longer waits of around half an hour.

Further afield, the M1 northbound between Woburn to Daventry and the M6 south from Wigan to Stafford will be hit the hardest with delays in the run-up to the 25th, Inrix staff said.

Across most major routes during the pre-Christmas weekend, 12pm to 2pm will be the busiest time to travel, with both the RAC and INRIX urging drivers to avoid lunchtime journeys.

The best times to travel, with the least likelihood of long tailbacks, will be before 11am and after 6pm on both the 22nd and 23rd December.

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said:

"Since Christmas falls on a Monday this year, there’s no need for drivers to use annual leave for getaway trips as they can travel over the weekend before.

"For that very reason, our research suggests these days will be the busiest times to drive, so we urge people to set off as early as possible on Saturday and Sunday.

"Since festive trips to see friends and family are so important, drivers do everything they can to avoid their vehicles letting them down. We recommend using the ‘FORCES’ acronym to help remember the Fuel, Oil, Rubber, Coolant, Electrics and Screen wash checks you need to make before a long journey.

"This is especially important if your route involves a motorway or A-road, where most delays are expected this year. Although it’s positive that National Highways have removed the majority of roadworks from high-speed roads, an increase in drivers could mean an increase in breakdowns."

Bob Pishue, INRIX transportation analyst, added:

"On average, drivers could see travel times up to 20% longer this holiday season, while travellers around Greater London could experience more than double typical drive times.

"Our recommendation is to avoid peak commuting hours and use traffic apps to minimise holiday travel traffic frustrations."

In total, Inrix's data from a survey of 2,100 drivers suggests that motorists are planning 21m festive getaways between today and Christmas Eve with 60% of these trips crammed into the last three days before the 25th.

With Christmas falling on a Monday this year, figures show leisure traffic levels will climb slowly the previous week before jumping by 43% from 2.2m on Thursday 21st to 3.2m on Friday 22nd December.

The period covering Friday 22nd and Christmas Eve is expected to see the most leisure journeys by car though – an estimated 13.5m this year, up 20% from the same period last year.

While Christmas Eve getaways match ‘Frantic Friday’ trips at 3.2m, the data also suggests that Friday will be far busier as those heading off for festivities share the roads with commuters and parents collecting children from school.

Roads will also be busy on Christmas Day and Boxing Day with an average of 3.5m trips expected, but serious delays should be less of a risk without the normal mix of commercial, commuter and school traffic.