RAC warns of record May bank‑holiday car traffic even as fuel prices surge and rain clouds gather

The Royal Automobile Club has issued a forecast that the upcoming May bank‑holiday weekend will see more than nineteen million leisure journeys by car, a level not reached since the summer of 2016, thereby signalling what officials deem the busiest traffic period for motorists in years across the United Kingdom. The projection, which emerges despite a backdrop of record‑high fuel prices that have historically discouraged discretionary travel and a forecast of worsening weather that threatens to sap the usual enthusiasm for long‑weekend outings, suggests that driver motivation remains inexplicably resilient.

Compounding the anticipated road congestion, a series of engineering works scheduled on major railway lines throughout the country are set to curtail capacity and generate additional delays for passengers, a development that underscores the systemic reliance on road transport while the rail network appears to be undergoing maintenance at precisely the most inconvenient moment. Transport authorities have warned that the combination of saturated highways and reduced rail availability could force travellers to endure prolonged journeys, yet no coordinated mitigation strategy, such as expanded public‑transport services or dynamic traffic management, has been publicly detailed, leaving the public to navigate the predictable fallout largely on their own.

The situation therefore illustrates a broader policy inconsistency in which the encouragement of private car use persists amid rising energy costs and environmental concerns, while investment in alternative modes remains insufficient to absorb the surge in demand, a paradox that critics argue reflects an outdated mobility paradigm unwilling to adapt to contemporary fiscal and climatic realities. Unless future planning reconciles the evident gap between the anticipated surge in private‑vehicle journeys and the inadequate provision of resilient, affordable public‑transport options, the pattern of predictable bottlenecks and passenger inconvenience is likely to repeat each successive holiday period.

Published: May 1, 2026