British motorists will drive 449 miles EACH this Christmas

1 in 5 Brits say Christmas is dominated by driving to see friends and family

Millions are planning festive leisure trips this Christmas

Motorists will drive 4.3 billion miles this Christmas with more than 1 in 4 planning to travel 500 miles or more.

The average driver will cover a total of 449 miles.

Nearly 6 million separate leisure journeys were estimated to have been driven on Boxing Day alone – and Friday 27th December will be equally busy, according to the survey by the RAC.

  • Christmas congestion: 12 days of delays predicted

Saturday 28 December and Sunday 29 December will also see more than 5 million individual leisure journeys taken by car.

“This is very much a time of year when we tend to cover much longer distances than usual to ensure we get to spend valuable time with family and friends, regardless of where we or they live in the country, with drivers depending on their cars more than ever,” said RAC spokesman Rod Dennis.

The survey of 3,500 motorists about their festive driving plans showed that nearly 1 in 3 plan at least one long-distance trip of two hours or more.

A large proportion say they will take two or more lengthy journeys this Christmas.

Highways England customer service director Melanie Clarke added that a little planning beforehand could save a Christmas nightmare of suffering a breakdown.

“We know from experience that almost half of breakdowns can easily be avoided if motorists carry out simple vehicle checks before setting off.”

The roads are expected to be much quieter in the build-up to the New Year, adds the RAC’s Dennis.

Around 3.4 million leisure journeys will be taken on New Year’s Eve – and less than 2.5 million drivers will take to the road on New Year’s Day…

Related Articles

Richard Aucock
Richard Aucockhttps://www.richardaucock.co.uk/
Richard is director at Motoring Research. He has been with us since 2001, and has been a motoring journalist even longer. He won the IMCO Motoring Writer of the Future Award in 1996 and the acclaimed Sir William Lyons Award in 1998. Both awards are run by the Guild of Motoring Writers and Richard is currently vice chair of the world's largest organisation for automotive media professionals. Richard is also a juror and Steering Committee director for World Car Awards and the UK juror for the AUTOBEST awards.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Find a Car Review

Latest

Salon Privé London to host three days of champagne and supercars

Salon Privé London returns to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea next month, with special celebrations of McLaren and the Porsche 911 Turbo.

Kia EV9 is World Car of the Year 2024

The Kia EV9 is the latest pure electric car to be named World Car of the Year – and it also scooped the World Electric Vehicle 2024 prize

New Volkswagen ID.Buzz GTX gets 340hp and all-wheel drive

The retro-styled ID. Buzz people carrier is now offered with 340hp, making for an unlikely addition to Volkswagen’s sporty GTX range.