UK motorists issued 'do not drive' warning for Friday and Saturday

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Drivers have been urged not to travel on major routes at certain times this weekend to avoid the worst Christmas holiday traffic.

There are six hours on Friday and Saturday that will be extremely busy on main roads due to people travelling for Christmas.

The RAC and transport analytics company Inrix warned roads are likely to be busiest between 1pm and 7pm. The analytics company revealed that hotspots where queues are expected include the M3 between its junction with the M25 and the south coast, the M25 anticlockwise between its junctions with the M1 and the M23, and the M53 from Chester to Liverpool. READ MORE: Paul McCartney fans serenade star as he's seen leaving luxury Manchester hotel The RAC commissioned a survey of 2,100 UK adults which suggested 3 million leisure trips by car are planned for Friday, rising to 3.7 million for Saturday.

Holiday traffic is expected to peak on Christmas Eve, with 3.8 million journeys. An estimated total of 29.3 million festive journeys will be made between Wednesday and Christmas Eve, which is the most since the RAC began recording the data in 2013.