Brits have been urged not to travel on major routes around the UK from 1pm today, as warnings are issued by experts.
The AA has also predicted that from this afternoon (20 December), traffic is set to make roads across Britain grind to a standstill.
This is, of course, due to the mad rush of people acting in the tradition of Chris Rea and driving home for Christmas.
According to the AA, today is set to be the busiest day on the roads throughout the festive period.
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The AA has said an estimated 23.7 million drivers are expected to hit the roads as the mad dash to make it home for Christmas next week begins.
The breakdown coverage experts have also revealed where the major hotspots for traffic are set to be, i.e. where you should avoid unless you want to spend five hours sitting in your car to move about two miles at most.
The roads to avoid that are likely to face the most congestion
- The M4/M5 interchange near Bristol
- The M25 near Heathrow Airport
- The M5/M6 interchange near Birmingham
- The M4 around Cardiff and Newport
- The M60 near the Trafford Centre in Manchester
- The M1 near Meadowhall in Sheffield
- The M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow
In addition to this, the RAC and Inrix, a data analytics firm that provides information on traffic hotspots, have also identified the M3’s junction between the M25 and the south coast, the M25 anticlockwise between the junctions linking to the M1 and M23, and the M53 from Chester to Liverpool as hotspots for queues today.
In the annual journey home that many British motorists will face this coming weekend, extra care should also be taken due to the weather conditions.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings across parts of the UK, with some reports stating that winds of up to ‘85mph’ are set to batter the country.
Despite this, the Met Office guidance warns of a maximum of 80mph winds, and most areas covered expected to face winds of between 50 and 60mph.
While yellow guidance does not come with a risk to life warning, drivers should be aware of the potentially high winds when travelling.
This can cause travel disruption and delays to drivers and train passengers.
On Saturday (21 December), the affected areas mostly reside in North England, Scotland, and the north of Ireland.
On Sunday (22 December), the entire western half of Britain is set to be hit, along with the north of Ireland and all of Scotland.
Michael Slavin