Major routes across the UK could see gridlock from Friday as more drivers head away for the bank holiday this year.

This Friday, 2 May, is expected to see the worst jams as commuter traffic combines with holiday trips

A million more drivers are planning getaway journeys on major roads over the May Day weekend, equating to 17 million trips over the weekend, despite Easter still being fresh in people’s minds.

Some 3.2 million journeys could be made on Friday 2 May alone – just slightly more than the 2.9 million and 2.8 million planned on Saturday 3 and bank holiday Monday 5 respectively.

Sunday 4 could be the best day to travel with just 2.4 million trips scheduled, although drivers are planning an additional 6.0 million journeys at some point between Friday and Monday.

Staycations appear to be the preferred trip of choice. The most popular reason for getting away this weekend – cited by a third of drivers (34%) – is to see family and friends, followed by shopping and running errands (17%) and going on a short break (10%).**

Data from the transport analytics specialists at Inrix also suggests Friday will see the most congestion, with journeys across the UK predicted to be delayed by nearly a third (28%) more than normal.

The worst of the jams are likely later in the afternoon and into Friday evening. Around London, the M25 clockwise from the South Mimms interchange to Essex could be hit by delays of 40 minutes from 4pm as commuter traffic combines with holiday trips. Elsewhere, the M5 southbound is expected to see delays of a similar duration from 7pm between the J15 Almondsbury interchange at Bristol and J23 for Bridgwater.

Together with the RAC, Inrix is advising drivers to travel before 10am on Friday if they can, or before 11am or after 3pm if travelling on Saturday, Sunday or the Monday bank holiday.

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “Although the Easter break was just two weeks ago, our figures suggest this weekend will still be hectic on the roads as millions take advantage of another bank holiday. This week’s very warm weather may not last right into the weekend, but with lots of daylight hours there’s still plenty of opportunity to get out and about. For drivers that have a choice, it’s best to avoid Friday evening as that’s when leisure traffic will clash with commuter journeys.”