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Gegli news - Worst of Christmas traffic to hit from Friday lunchtime, expert says - 12/22/2017 2:12:57 PM 2:12:57 PM 

Around 11.5m car journeys will be made between 17 December and Christmas Eve, and 17.5m between Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

 The worst traffic jams will start from Friday lunchtime as Britons prepare to head off on their Christmas getaways, according to a traffic expert.

Dr Graham Cookson, chief economist at transportation analysts Inrix, said many motorists will find themselves stuck in long queues from Friday afternoon.

An estimated 1.3 million drivers will be on the roads on the last working day before Christmas, including people getting away for the festive period and those travelling home from work on their usual commute.

Dr Cookson said it will be one of the worst days of the year on the roads with "incredibly severe" traffic jams.

"After lunch most of the roads will get busier and stay busy into the evening," he said.

"What we see is roads in congestion for most of the time, average speeds very slow, people crawling along.

"The pure weight of traffic means a lot of motorways will be much slower than normal so your total journey takes so much longer."

An aerial view of the M25 Motorway
Image:The M25 will be 'top of the list' for congestion, Dr Cookson said

Inrix data shows that the worst non-accident traffic blackspot on the Friday before Christmas last year was the A303 at Stonehenge.

There were queues for seven miles when congestion there peaked shortly after 6pm on 23 December 2016.

Dr Cookson said there is no guaranteed way to avoid getting stuck in a jam, adding it is "tricky to avoid."

He says "any of the major motorways" will be extremely busy and the M25 is the "top of the list".

The RAC is calling it "Frantic Friday" and strongly urged drivers to avoid long journeys "if they possibly can".

It estimates that 11.5 million trips will be made by car between 17 December and Christmas Eve, but this will be eclipsed by the 17.5 million taking place between Christmas Day and New Year's Day as people hit the sales.

Almost 400 miles of roadworks will be lifted by Highways England to ease journeys.

The "roadworks embargo" will be in place on motorways and major A roads from 6am on Friday until 2 January.


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