As the first so-called "black" weekend on European roads is predicted to hit travellers going on holiday by car, a recent survey highlighted the risk of Belgian driving behaviour.
Holiday traffic on European roads is heading towards a peak. Belgian roadside assistance company VAB warned that this weekend will mark the first "black Saturday" on European roads. As is usually the case in the summer, Belgians will be travelling to their holiday destinations by car in large numbers. For this reason, the organisation stressed the importance of being rested.
A recent survey by VAB showed that a third of Belgians who go on holiday by car travel more than 1,000 kilometres. Despite these long distances, a quarter of respondents say they do not take a short break every two to three hours, while six in 10 Belgians do not change drivers at all.
It also found that 7% of Belgians leave on a trip at night "despite the fact that a loss of concentration can occur more quickly because most motorways are not lit at night." Finally, one in five drivers says they leave on holiday as soon as possible after the last working day.
"All this can contribute to drowsiness behind the wheel, one of the most underestimated dangers in traffic," said VAB. The mobility organisation is therefore calling for adequate breaks during a long car journey and to leave on holiday extra rested.
First black weekend
VAB warned earlier this week that more than 800 kilometres of traffic jams are expected on French roads. Bottlenecks are expected on Saturday on the motorways around Paris, as usual, the A10 to Bordeaux and the A6 and A7 to the Mediterranean, on the dreaded Autoroute du Soleil.
"Alternatives to this route are the A75 (Clermont-Ferrand - Béziers) or in Dijon following the A39 towards Geneva to then reconnect with the A7 near Lyon via the A42," VAB reported. "Traffic jams are also likely on these routes, but less severe than on the Autoroute du Soleil." At the Mont-Blanc tunnel towards Italy, it is also expected to be particularly busy during the coming weekend.
Until last weekend, traffic problems in France were still manageable. On Saturday, however, waiting times increased in many places, as the roads were very busy, with up to four hours of traffic jams on the way south. At its peak, a total of 871 kilometres of traffic jams. "That's a lot, because last year, France clocked up 872 kilometres of traffic jams on the last weekend of July which was marked as a Black Saturday," VAB said.
Deep red on all roads
Touring also expects very busy traffic in Belgium with traffic jams on Friday and Saturday morning on the E40. It will also be very busy on the E411 Brussels-Luxembourg.
Roads towards and in other popular holiday destinations will also turn deep red. Germany, where all regions are now on holiday, is also getting a lot busier. Especially on Friday, traffic will be very heavy. "This makes for big crowds in Germany itself, but also on the roads to popular destinations for Germans such as Italy and Croatia and the transit countries Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia," VAB said.
For Belgian tourists, the disruption will mainly be on the A3 Köln-Frankfurt-Nuremberg, the A8 Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Munich-Salzburg, the A5 Karlsruhe-Basel, the A9 Nuremberg-Munich and, for those heading to Scandinavia, the A7 Hamburg-Flensburg.
VAB did note that there is still a driving ban for trucks on Saturdays between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning until the end of August, which "should alleviate some of the traffic congestion."
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Switzerland will be celebrating its bank holidays on 1 August, which will see many Swiss people take a long weekend. This local holiday traffic comes on top of through holiday traffic, VAB warned, meaning traffic jams of more than two hours are expected before the Gotthard tunnel towards the Italian border.
VAB once again stressed that Sunday morning is the best departure time for people heading on holiday by car. "If you still want to leave on Saturday, do it in the late morning. The big traffic jams at the bottlenecks will be less or already dissolved by the time you get there."
