16m motorists set for weekend jams

24/08/2011

Kev Kiernan

UK roads will be swarming with as many as 16 million vehicles this bank holiday weekend, according to the AA.

Traffic will intensify from around mid-afternoon on Friday, as people take off for weekend visits, festivals and sports events. At least two in five people who own a car are predicted to be on the roads at some point this weekend.

The AA said motorists in Northern Ireland are more likely than anyone else to be driving. Motorists in Wales are the most likely to keep off the roads, a poll of 16,000 AA members suggests.

Almost a third of those who will be driving will be aiming for a coastline somewhere. One in four vehicles on the road will be on family visits and around one in eight will be taking part in a leisure activity, such as attending a festival.

The motoring group said the two busiest roads at the weekend will be western parts of the M25 and the A303 in Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. The M4 linking Bristol with London and roads around the Dorset coast will also be choked up.