Motoring experts have calculated which day of the upcoming bank holiday weekend is set to be the busiest on the roads.
They have also identified a number of likely congestion hotspots, including motorways in Gloucester, Somerset and Hertfordshire.
The RAC says that 20 million leisure trips will be made by car between Friday 28 August and Monday 31 August – a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This represents the largest total recorded since the motoring services company began evaluating drivers’ summer bank holiday travel plans in 2015.
The RAC warned that the coming Friday is “likely to be mired in traffic”, with 4.1 million getaway journeys predicted.
A further 3.8 million leisure trips are anticipated on Saturday, 3.1 million on Sunday, and 3.4 million on Monday, when day-trippers compete for space on the roads with people returning from short breaks.
An additional 5.5 million journeys will occur across the four-day period, with drivers unsure which exact day they will hit the road.
Transport analytics company Inrix also identified a number of likely congestion hotspots, including:
- The M25 anticlockwise from Junction 17 in Hertfordshire to Junction 12 in Surrey, and clockwise from Junction 15 in Buckinghamshire to Junction 19 in Hertfordshire
- The M5 south from Junction 15 near Bristol to Junction 23 in Somerset
- The M1 south from Junction 16 in Northamptonshire to Junction 6 in Hertfordshire
- The M5 north from Junction 11 in Gloucestershire to Junction 1 in the West Midlands.
An RAC survey of nearly 3,000 UK drivers indicated that 13 per cent have scrapped their bank holiday travel plans because of higher petrol and diesel prices due to the Iran war.
Some 8 per cent said they would still make their journey but save money on other things such as accommodation and eating out.
Filling a typical 55-litre family car with petrol now costs about £89, compared with £74 a year ago.
A tank of diesel is about £100, up from £79 in August 2025.
The RAC commissioned research company FindOutNow to conduct the survey of 2,939 UK drivers on 17 August.
RAC breakdown spokesperson Harriet Hernando said: “With record numbers making a getaway over the bank holiday, it looks like Brits are buoyed by the persistent warm and dry weather and are more confident in making plans for the late summer bank holiday weekend – which is quite often a washout.
“Drivers should be ready for frantic Friday and think about setting off before 10am if they can.
“If the warm weather continues, people should be prepared in case they get caught in a traffic jam, by carrying plenty of water.”
Breakdown rescue company Green Flag said the number of callouts it received over the summer bank holiday period last year was 13 per cent higher than the previous weekend.
It warned that many drivers may be overlooking “basic vehicle checks” before long journeys, such as tyre pressures and levels of oil and coolant.
Network Rail is carrying out less engineering work than usual for the bank holiday weekend, but thousands of passengers face disruption when the East Coast Main Line is closed between London King’s Cross and Peterborough on Sunday for digital signalling work.
Impacts from other major work include no trains between Stafford and Wolverhampton on Sunday, and disruption in the Leeds area between Saturday and Monday.