Jams predicted as bank holiday car journeys hit pre-pandemic levels

An estimated 18.4 million cars will be on the road at some stage this bank holiday weekend, but research from the AA suggests that fewer drivers will be setting off on long journeys as a result of the pandemic.

A survey of AA members found that 42% are planning a bank holiday getaway, which the motoring organisation suggested could mean 13.3 million cars on road trips, an increase of 37% since last year, and a return to pre-pandemic levels.

Taking into account normal weekend travel, the AA estimates that there will be over 18 million cars on the road at some point over the three-day weekend. However, it does not expect the number of long car journeys to return to pre-pandemic levels, but predicts that 13% of drivers will set out on journeys of 50 miles or more, compared to 23% in 2019.

AA president Edmund King said: ‘There are likely to be big delays on the roads where holiday traffic mixes with sporting or shopping day trippers.

‘Covid’s disruption to people’s lives is still noticeable in the 10% fewer long-distance trippers this August. The drop in longer trips might be due to the difficulty in booking accommodation away from home due to more families taking their holidays in the UK.’

He added: ‘Journeys have not yet returned to pre-lockdown patterns. Certainly, government statistics show that car travel since the easing of restrictions has been edging towards 95% of pre-pandemic levels – but that is with public transport use still way down on what it was before Covid.

‘September and the expected return of more people to offices will be a huge pointer to how much the Coronavirus has changed the way we live, work and travel.’