Christmas Exodus Will Cause Traffic Chaos

Fleet Operators will face extensive congestion this Christmas as the majority of the UK’s 35 million vehicles are expected to take to the roads ahead of the festive season, that’s according to recent data from traffic software firm Inrix.

Inrix expects the Christmas exodus will be busiest between 12pm and 5pm on Friday December 20 when up to 20 million drivers will travel home early from work or head away for the festivities, including many who don’t normally travel at peak times.

The South East will be worst hit with congestion on major routes set to be up to four times more severe.

"The M25 will see the worst traffic ahead of the Christmas period – on Friday December 20, a typical one hour journey clockwise around the western stretch is likely to take three times longer," said Chris Lambert, UK traffic analyst at Inrix.

"Drivers should expect heavy traffic on routes heading to the UK’s major airports, especially Heathrow, which on the 20th December, one of the busiest days for most airlines, could see a one hour or more delay on the M4 as well as on the A4 as far back as White City in Central London."

The second busiest day on the roads before Christmas according to Inrix data will be Thursday December 19, with the heaviest traffic expected between 4pm and 6pm.

Congestion is expected to extend beyond the South East on the December 19 and 20.

Northbound on the M1 will be particularly busy through the East Midlands, adding two hours to a journey from Leicester through Nottinghamshire.

The M6 northbound between junctions 4 (M42) and 17 past Sandbach could see delays of up to an hour.

The M56 heading to Manchester Airport could also experience congestion with delays of 30 minutes or longer.

(Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)