Anyone who takes the car to go on holiday in the coming weeks should not start their trip on Saturday. That is what Arnoud Broekhuis of ANWB Traffic Information warns. On Saturdays it can get particularly busy in France, Germany and Austria, resulting in traffic jams and delays.
On the Autoroute du Soleil, the highway to the south of France and Spain, five Saturdays in July and August are designated as ‘black Saturdays’. Then extreme crowds are expected on the road and at gas stations, roadside restaurants and toll gates.
In order to cope with the summer crowds, Austria is considering regulating traffic on the routes to Italy, Slovenia and Croatia by means of a ‘Blockabfertigung’. But if traffic in Austria is dosed as a result, traffic jams can already occur on German roads.
Prefer to travel on Friday or Sunday
According to Broekhuis, the increasing number of people traveling to multiple places is also exacerbating traffic congestion. “We see that more and more travel destinations are being changed on Saturdays. In the past people stayed in one place for two or three weeks, now we see that accommodation and destination are sometimes changed every week, which leads to extra traffic.” According to him, it is better to travel on Friday or Sunday, or any other weekday.
The problems at Schiphol will also cause more holidaymakers to exchange the plane for the car, says Broekhuis. “The shortage at Schiphol is not alone. We also receive these signals from many other Western European holiday countries.”
Emergency services are also busy
In the summer it is always all hands on the mind for the ANWB, says Broekhuis. It is therefore to everyone’s advantage to avoid Saturdays as much as possible. Because, he warns, “the emergency services will also be extra busy.”
If you don’t feel like waiting for emergency services in the heat along the road, it is a good idea to schedule a car maintenance service in good time. Garages are also suffering from staff shortages and parts are more difficult to supply. It is also useful to take a spare wheel abroad. “Because the emergency services are also busy on Saturday and then you may have to wait a long time for help with a flat tire.”