1,000 km of traffic jams as Dutch people head to France

Saturday will be the busiest day of the year on European highways, the Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB announced. The ANWB said they expect this year Black Saturday to be busier than ever, given that many people chose to go on vacation by car during the coronavirus crisis.

It was already extremely packed on French highways towards popular holiday destinations on Friday. Around 5:15 p.m., traffics jams reached more than one thousand kilometers, the ANWB wrote on Twitter.

Across Europe, summer vacation kicked off this weekend, such as for the inhabitants of Paris. Traffic jams reaching more than 1000 kilometers occurred every Saturday for the past few weeks in France. “That was already extremely high. In 2019, traffic jams did not reach for more than 800 kilometers on the busiest day”, a spokesperson of the ANWB told RTL Nieuws.

The ANWB advised travelers to France to not depart too early. “If you step into the car at night then, you drive directly into the problem”, the ANWB spokesperson said. “Around midday it will be the most packed, therefore, it is better to leave later.” Ideally, it would be best to wait until Sunday if possible when traveling to France, the ANWB stated.

It will also not be smooth sailing on the highways towards Germany. The holidays began on Saturday in the south of Germany meaning people will be on their way to Italy and Croatia.

The ANWB predicted that waiting time on Swiss highways could take up to two hours. Since Friday night, there has been a traffic jam in front of the Gotthard Tunnel. Waiting times could reach up to two hours.

In Austria, drivers have to wait near the Karawanken Tunnel and on the highway between Vienna and Budapest due to the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

De vertraging op de vakantieroutes in #Frankrijk beginnen al flink op te lopen. Check ANWB Vakantiehulp app: https://t.co/prbrlzdf7e pic.twitter.com/ee5MBDAzyq

— ANWB Europa Verkeersinformatie (@ANWBeuropa) July 31, 2021