The roads seem busier than ever at the moment as millions of families make the most of Britain’s holiday destinations and the good weather.
But it isn’t just the routes to and from popular tourist spots such as Cornwall and the Lake District that are congested — with tailbacks affecting professional drivers who earn their living on the roads.
Great getaway
At the start of the summer, more than 14 million drivers hit the roads when schools broke up for the holidays — the second highest number recorded by the RAC since Covid restrictions were lifted in 2022.
Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, along with the North West of England saw the greatest influx of tourists, with 9% flocking to these destinations.
Sussex and Kent coasts welcomed 8% of staycationers, with another 8% heading to Scotland, 7% to East Anglia and 6% to Wales.
While sitting in long traffic jams isn’t the ideal start — or end — to anyone’s holiday, there is a huge knock-on effect on professional drivers who are also stuck in the gridlock.
An RAC breakdown spokesperson said many people are opting to stay in the UK instead of travelling abroad with concerns over cancelled flights, higher air fares and EU border delays.
The spokesperson said: “Household budgets have also been squeezed thanks to high fuel costs caused by the Iran war, meaning many may be opting to spend their summer holidays here rather than battle with the expense of going abroad.”
Plan ahead
And the advice to beat the jams applies to professional drivers, as well as holidaymakers.
They said: “Drivers should plan their journeys, thinking about setting off earlier or later in the day to avoid traffic jams. People should prepare for delays and getting stuck in a jam in potentially very hot weather. This means ensuring your car is ‘summer-ready’ – checking that oil and coolant are topped up and making sure that tyres have plenty of tread and are pumped up to the correct pressures.
“During the June heatwave, our patrols attended a fifth more breakdowns. Top faults included tyres – with blowouts more common in the heat as pressure in the tyre builds – batteries and, of course, overheated engines. But with the right TLC, similar breakdowns can be avoided during the big summer getaway.”
As well as making sure your vehicle is in full working order before setting off, it is also worth considering whether you would benefit from having breakdown cover in place in case there are any issues on the road. Many professional driver insurance providers offer this as a paid optional extra alongside standard cover.
The RAC spokesperson added: “Drivers whose vehicles have pre-existing problems like a warning light on the dashboard should get these checked by an RAC Mobile Mechanic or reputable garage before attempting to set out on their summer holidays. There is often last-minute availability, just go to rac.co.uk to book.
“People should also carry plenty of water, as well as suncream and an umbrella to provide shade. A phone charger and a portable battery pack is also a must in the event that you need to call for breakdown assistance.”
Gridlock
While the destinations themselves are familiar with the summer slowdown, delays at notorious locations such as in the Midlands, where the M5 meets the M6, the junction of the M5 and the M4 near Bristol, the M6 towards the Lake District, the M60 in Manchester and the M1 and M25 in the Sout East have a knock-on effect.
They can add hours to journeys, which not only impacts businesses working to deadlines, it causes problems for professional drivers, especially HGV drivers whose hours are strictly monitored by tacographs.
This means that businesses have to take traffic into account when planning deliveries, collections and transporting passengers.
Driving in slow-moving traffic is frustrating, but professional drivers need to be alert for other drivers not paying attention, being unfamiliar with the roads, or suddenly changing lanes.
