Tuesday 9th August 2005

Here's when to avoid the M25

Country's busiest road clogs up in the summer

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Just don't go there

You want to know when to avoid the M25? Friday evenings in August are the busiest times, especially on the western ring and holiday-makers combined with daily commuters clog the country's busiest motorway.

Travelling between 5pm and 6pm between junctions 10 and 21A is when traffic is at its heaviest, according to a survey by Trafficmaster. You don't want to go near the northern section, between junctions 21A and 30, either if you can avoid it. Or, according to Trafficmaster, the southbound section of the M1 between junctions 12 and 6A.

A Trafficmaster spokesman said, "August is one of the worst months of the year for traffic as Fridays within this month are on average busier than a normal Friday. Many people make the most of the weekend during the summer holidays and with holidaymakers mixing with commuter traffic, delays are more frequent and longer."

Other congested roads highlighted by Trafficmaster include:

• The M4 from London to Bristol and between the Severn Bridge and Cardiff;
• The M62 in West Yorkshire between junction 23 and the M621 at junction seven;
• The M8 at Glasgow from junction 13 to junction 25;
• The M6 in the West Midlands between junctions four and 10A
• The M5 Avonmouth to Almondsbury near Bristol.

Trafficmaster also found that 40 per cent of drivers spend an hour a day stuck in traffic and that last year motorists wasted around 182 million working days waiting in jams - costing the UK up to £20bn.

[mutt]

From my personal experience of the M25 August (which I used to commute on daily from Jct 31 to Jct 9 and later from Jct 31 to Jct 21) August was always one of the best months to travel, journey times during any of the school holiday was typically 10%-20% quicker.

Yes, ok Monday mornings and Friday evenings were always the worst times of the week but term time was always worse, particually the Autumn term - I don't know why, it just was.