Heavy rain, rail strikes and motorway crashes created travel misery for thousands attempting to drive home for Christmas on Friday, as congestion worsened across the UK.
Accidents on the M1 and flooding which has forced a partial closure of the M25 are among disruptions causing major traffic jams just two days before Christmas, the AA has warned.
The insurance company said it has attended 9,000 breakdowns throughout the day, with more expected as commuters continue to join the getaway traffic.
A ten mile-long queue of traffic was left backing up on the M25, after the motorway was closed from junction 11 at Woking to junction 12 at the M3 due to flooding.
Two out of four lanes were later reopened, but congestion persisted.
AA Roadwatch has reported problems on motorways across the nation, from the M90 west of Edinburgh to the M11 near Stansted Airport.
Many drivers are also battling a band of heavy rain which is moving north from southern England and Wales to southern Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout the day.
AA president Edmund King urged drivers to prepare for the weather before heading out.
“The wet weather has played a role in adding to congestion on the roads, which were already busier due to the ongoing rail strikes,” he said.
“The rain has also led to more pothole breakdowns, such as punctures, as the puddles tend to hid the potholes.”
Among the locations experiencing problems are multiple sections of the M25, the M1 around Luton, the M3 in Basingstoke, the M4 in Wales, the M5 in Exester, the M6 at Walsall, the M42 at Solihull, flooded regions of the M55, and the M60 west of Manchester.
The RAC issued a “severe traffic alert” for the clockwise section of the M25 between junction seven for the M23 and junction 16 for the M40.
Many people are switching to road transport due to thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail walking out from 6pm on Christmas Eve, causing train services to finish at around 3pm that day.
An overtime ban is also causing major disruption to services by a number of operators on Friday, including Chiltern Railways, East Midlands Railway and South Western Railway.
🎄Your Christmas getaway at a glance 🎄
— The RAC (@TheRAC_UK) December 20, 2022
📅 Busiest days: 23rd & 24th December
🚗 Check: oil, tyres, and coolant
⏰ Travel: early morning / late evening
🛣 Longest delays: #M25 / #M60 / #M40 (@INRIX)
Our full getaway guide 👉 https://t.co/SGhGyinQ4X pic.twitter.com/6YrNlZlf7l
Transport analytics company Inrix expects journey times by road to be around 14% longer compared with the same period last year.
Mr King said: “Friday and Saturday will be the busiest on the roads with some 17 million trips each day.
“Then we’re expecting Christmas Day to be quieter with shorter local journeys. On Boxing Day traffic will pick up again with approximately 15 million trips as people head out to see friends and family.”
The RAC urged motorists to carry out pre-journey checks on their vehicle before setting off, to reduce the chance of suffering a breakdown.
National Highways said almost 98% of England’s motorways and major A-roads will be fully open until the end of January 2 due to it completing and lifting roadworks.
