11 Million Staycationers on The Road

If you have recently completed your driving lessons and passed your test, you might be wanting to ditch sunny Thatcham this Summer and drive for our isle’s coasts. According to a study conducted by the RAC and INRIX, this year’s school holidays will see an estimated 11.5m drivers taking trips to staycation holiday destinations, with the expectation that Friday 23rd July will have been the peak for busy roads. The RAC expects that the 21st and 23rd July will have seen 2.6 million and 2.3 million holidaymakers taking to out roads, with journey times being heavily increased. Delays could reach an increase of 29% compared to travel time estimated for the rest of the month.

The RAC and Highways England are warning people to prepare diligently for the toll the travelling might take on their vehicles, as many motorists will not have used their cars for long journeys in a significant amount of times since the pandemic was declared. As it states on the RAC website ‘Checking tyres, oil and coolant levels will be more important this summer than ever and could make the difference between drivers getting safely to their holiday destinations or being broken down at the side of a busy road.’

RAC’s Breakdown Spokesman, Simon Williams, has ominously predicted that this summer has ‘all the elements of a perfect storm’. It is not just the volume of people already geared up for staycations that may pose a problem, but many more people may opt for staycations if prior plans abroad are cancelled.