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28 April 2016 09:28
Holidaymakers have been warned of potential traffic issues this weekend
People heading on holidays abroad could face heavy traffic over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend.
As many as 20 million leisure trips could ultimately be made on Britain's roads between Friday and Monday.
Due to the earlier timing of Easter this year, motoring group the RAC has indicated that a "far greater" number of cars could take to the roads than the May Day weekend of 2015. This is because people may have avoided going away on holiday at Easter.
Impact on travellers
The high levels of traffic on the UK's roads could have an impact on those trying to get to an airport to catch a flight to an overseas holiday hotspot.
As a result, people will need to give themselves plenty of time to avoid pre-holiday stress.
While travel insurance can help people when they are actually on breaks abroad, they may need to tread carefully before they arrive at the airport.
Congestion hotspots
According to the RAC's research, as many as 8.4 million leisure trips could be made by car on Saturday alone. Noon is likely to be the busiest period of the day, in terms of congestion.
Another 5.4 million trips on Friday, 6.9 million on Sunday and 4.8 million on Monday could also be seen, the organisation has suggested.
Travellers should be aware that the M5 from Bristol to Taunton, the A30 and A38 from Exeter to Cornwall, the A14 between the Midlands and Suffolk, and the M53 between Liverpool and Chester are expected to be the roads most at risk of hold-ups.
The expert's view
The RAC's Simon Williams said: "The number of people who plan to use their cars for leisure trips, whether that's visiting family and friends or enjoying a day out or some time away, is far greater this year than last."
The expert added: "This level of recreational car journeys is the highest we have seen in recent times. We think it can only be a hangover effect from Easter falling in late March when perhaps people didn't drive as much as they would have had it been April when the weather would have been a little warmer."
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