Drivers planning nearly 21m leisure trips as schools break up for Easter

An estimated 20.8m leisure trips will be taken by drivers this weekend as many schools across the UK break up for the Easter holidays, new figures from the RAC suggest.

A survey of 1,435 drivers’ plans suggests that Saturday is likely to see the greatest numbers on the roads – with some 5.6m getaway journeys expected – followed by Friday, the day when many school terms finish ahead of Easter, when around 5m trips will be taken.

An additional 5.6m trips are predicted to be taken at some point between Friday and the end of Sunday, with these drivers unsure on exactly which day they’ll go away.

Data from transportation analytics specialists INRIX suggests that early starts or postponing journeys until later in the day today, Saturday and Sunday could be the best way of avoiding any queues, with major roads expected to be particularly busy between 10am and 3pm over the weekend.

Separate RAC research found that just a fifth of drivers (19%) say they always check their cars are ‘road-ready’ for making a trip around Easter, increasing the potential for breakdowns to ruin the start of families’ Easter breaks. Half of drivers (51%) said they sometimes check their cars over before setting out but an alarming 30% said they never do.

The RAC is therefore reminding people of the importance of spending some time checking their vehicles’ oil, coolant and tyres to ensure as many trouble-free journeys by road in the coming days as possible.

RAC traffic spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “We’re expecting to see two big waves of Easter holiday traffic over the next few weeks – one this weekend as many schools break up, and other the following one which coincides with the bank holiday and a long weekend for a lot of people.

“With many people likely to be travelling longer distances than they have for several months, reducing the chance of their cars letting them down is more important than ever.”

“Checking oil and coolant levels, as well as tyre pressure and tread depth, can drastically reduce the chances of a breakdown and we’d urge every driver planning a trip in the coming days to put aside some time to do this – it could make the difference between a straightforward trip or one stuck at the side of the road.”