The coming Easter bank holiday is likely to see traffic jams in major UK hotspots, as drivers make the most of the nicer weather and the long weekend.

The south and west of the UK look worst for Easter road congestion

Data from the RAC and transport analytics expert Inrix reveals some 17 million leisure trips will be made by car over the weekend – increasing travel times about 25% compared to normal.

Good Friday is set to see the largest number of journeys, with an estimated 2.7 million ‘getaway’ trips expected. Long delays are expected on major roads in the south west of England and through some of the home counties. The A303 westbound near Stonehenge, M5 south between Bristol and Bridgwater and M25 anticlockwise between Hertfordshire and Surrey are predicted to see more than twice the normal amount of traffic, with vehicle speeds reduced to just 12mph at some points in the day.

It’s a similar picture for Easter Sunday, while Easter Saturday and Easter Monday will be only slightly less busy with 2.3 million separate trips each.

A large number of drivers are also waiting to see what the great British weather has in store before deciding which day to jump in the car – with the potential for another seven million trips to be staggered throughout the long weekend.

Planned engineering work on the railway, including the closure of London Euston station over the whole weekend, are also likely to increase road traffic. But National Highways is temporarily lifting around 1,400 miles of roadworks from Thursday to help alleviate the queues.

RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis added: “Our patrols will be working incredibly hard over the whole Easter period, but many of the jobs they’ll attend could have been avoided if drivers had only given their cars a bit of TLC before setting out. No one wants a breakdown to get in the way of enjoying a well-earned break, so it’s a good idea to check tyres have plenty of tread and are properly inflated, and that oil, coolant and screen wash are all at the right levels under the bonnet. Following this advice can significantly reduce the chances of breaking down.

“At least it won’t cost quite as much to fill up the family car this Easter as it did last year, although there’s no getting away from the fact that drivers of diesel cars continue to get a really poor deal at the pumps. The average price of unleaded is currently £1.46 a litre, with diesel at £1.63 when it should really be around £1.52 based on the current wholesale price. This  compares to £1.62 and £1.76 respectively this time last year, which means a tank of petrol is £9 cheaper and diesel £7, despite being unfairly overpriced at the moment.”