Bank holiday traffic warning

Motorists should expect queues and delays on British roads as people take to their cars and head away for the Bank Holiday.

Published: 04 May 2013
By Chris Haycock

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Many motoring organisations and groups have been warning drivers that the roads, especially those heading towards popular coastal areas, will be particularly busy this year due to the warm weather across the UK. Seven million cars are expected to hit the roads over the bank holiday period, meaning the dash to get away will cause congestion on major roads and motorways. Road patrols are being boosted by up to twenty percent by The AA in order to cope with the influx of breakdowns. Traffic will peak on the roads on Saturday between 9am and 3pm, and routes most likely to be affected by heavy traffic will be:

A23 towards Brighton
M25 around Heathrow
M4 and M5
A30 and A303 towards Devon and Cornwall
M3, M27 and A31 towards the coast in Dorset
A47 towards Norfolk
A64 towards Yorkshire
M55 towards Blackpool
M6 going into the Lake District

Drivers can get up-to-date road conditions using their mobile phones by texting the word "TRAFFIC" plus the motorway, city or road to 68899. For example, send "TRAFFIC M6" to 68899. Texts cost £1 per SMS sent. Please do not use your mobile phone whilst driving. Content Provider: CliqTo Ltd, 1 Brassey Road, Old Potts Way, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Helpline 020 8123 1557 (for SMS enquiries only - we cannot answer queries regarding traffic conditions on this number)

Highways England news licensed and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0

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