The tips you need to avoid holiday traffic in May

THIS May 1st holiday will see the most motorists on the roads since 2016.

The RAC anticipates drivers will make an estimated 16.8 million separate recreational journeys.

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Holiday will be Monday employed with the most individual leisure trips (3.3 million), followed by tomorrow (Saturday) with 3 million and Sunday with 2.6 million.

Drivers plan to make a further 5.6 million trips between today and Monday – although 2.3 million of those will only be made in good weather.

Rising fuel prices will affect people’s plans more than during the Easter holidays.

Around 14% of drivers state that they are not planning a holiday trip this weekend for precisely this reason.

That’s more than double the proportion of motorists who didn’t drive over Easter for the same reason – 6%.

That RAC urges drivers to check their vehicles before each trip, especially if they are planning a longer trip.

It urges drivers to take a quick look at oil and coolant levels and make sure the tires are in good condition and inflated to the correct pressure.

But there are simple things you can do to avoid getting stuck in traffic in the first place.

This includes planning your route before you set off and allowing plenty of time for your trip. It’s also a good idea to leave as early as possible.

If you can’t leave early, it’s best to take smaller, less busy roads, even if the route is a bit longer at the end.

There are also some excellent navigation apps available for free on your smartphone that are better than the vast majority of in-car navigation devices.

Google Maps and Waze Both have extremely up-to-date data from people driving in real-time to update your route along the way and avoid getting stuck.