Today (3 August) is 'Black Saturday', the most congested day on European roads. The Flemish Motorists Association (VAB) has published guidelines for drivers keen to minimise waiting times.
Holiday season is in full swing and the first Saturday of August is historically the busiest day of the year on European roads. Last Saturday was less busy than expected but still saw 811-kilometre-long traffic jams in France. The VAB has listed several bottlenecks which should be avoided if possible:
Points of congestion in France:
- The A7 Lyon-Orange between 14:00 and 18:00
- The A8 from Italy towards Aix-en-Provence between 17:00 and 19:00
- The A10 Paris – Bordeaux between 07:00 and 14:00
- The A7 Lyon – Orange between 06:00 and 16:00
- The A7 Orange – Marseille between 10:00 and 18:00
- The A9 Montpellier – Spanish border between 09:00 and 20:00
- The A75 Clermont-Ferrand – Béziers between 10:00 and 17:00
- The A61 Toulouse – Narbonne between 10:00 and 16:00
- The Mont Blanc tunnel between 10:00 and 14:00
The worst queues last weekend were at the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland (two hours), the Mont Blanc Tunnel in France (2.5 hours) and the Karawanks and Tauern tunnels in Austria (one hour). "This will most likely be the same this coming weekend," said VAB.
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— Bison Futé (@BisonFute_MT) July 31, 2024
In Brussels, the Leonard Tunnel is still closed, as is the Arlberg Tunnel in Austria. The second poses difficulties for those travelling to Austria via Germany, as cars may avail of a diversion but trailers and caravans weighing more than 750 kg are not permitted to do so on Saturdays and Sundays from 09:00 to 17:00.
Works at Leonard Tunnel. Credit: Belga
When should you leave?
VAB recommends leaving during the week. If this is not possible then Sunday morning is the best moment during the weekend. "If you still want to leave on Saturday, don't go on the road until late in the morning," VAB advises. "Leaving on Friday to avoid traffic jams is not a good idea, because you will then get a mix of holiday traffic and commuter traffic."
Back to France: the Olympic Games will add to congestion and VAB recommends avoiding driving in and around Paris if possible. If unavoidable, the best time to leave is between 07:00 and 10:00 or between 15:00 and 21:00.
For those travelling from Belgium to France, VAB recommends routes via Bordeaux if heading west or Marseille if heading south. If coming from the east of Belgium it is best to drive via Luxembourg, Metz and Nancy.
Heavy traffic is expected across all of Germany throughout the weekend.
