Bank holiday travel madness coming - stay awake or stay home!

This bank holiday weekend, as families across England and Wales embark on their grand adventures to theme parks, seaside resorts, and beauty spots, a breakdown in the excitement could be just a snooze away. With an estimated 19.2 million cars set to flood the roads, GEM Motoring Assist has issued a timely wake-up call for drivers: get some sleep before you hit the road, or you might end up hitting something else.

The alarm bells are ringing louder than your snooze button, with experts revealing that a staggering 20 per cent of road collisions are linked to driver fatigue. Even more sobering is the statistic that a quarter of all fatal crashes are blamed on drowsy drivers. GEM's head of road safety, James Luckhurst, warns that this weekend could be a perfect storm of heavy traffic, massive roadworks, and drivers who are more asleep at the wheel than at home in bed.

“The bank holiday weekend is sure to see heavy traffic on much of our motorway network, as well as on routes to the coast and to tourist attractions,” Luckhurst said. And if the prospect of bumper-to-bumper traffic isn’t enough to keep you wide-eyed, consider this: major roadworks are underway, with additional emergency areas being constructed along smart motorways. So, not only will you need to keep your eyes peeled for sudden braking and erratic lane changes, but you’ll also need to navigate through a labyrinth of cones and construction zones.

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But don’t fret just yet – GEM has a survival guide to help you dodge fatigue-related disasters. First and foremost, get a solid night’s sleep before your marathon drive. No one wants to be that person drifting into the wrong lane because they were binge-watching a series until 2 am. GEM also suggests building in plenty of breaks. Every two hours or 100 miles, stretch your legs, grab a coffee, and if you must, resort to some car park calisthenics to get the blood flowing.

For those brave souls planning to tackle the highways solo, GEM advises against it. If you can, share the driving duties (and don’t forget to check your co-driver’s insurance). If you're flying solo, stay hydrated, and for the love of all things caffeinated, take that 15-minute break every couple of hours. And remember, the night is dark and full of terrors – so avoid driving into the wee hours unless you’ve got a bat signal to guide you.

As the RAC’s recent research shows, this weekend is set to be the busiest August bank holiday on the roads in nearly a decade. Saturday, 24 August, is expected to be the pinnacle of pandemonium with 3.7 million drivers planning to join the fray. So, whether you’re headed to the coast or just down the road, make sure your bank holiday adventure doesn’t turn into a wake-up call.

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