Busiest evening rush hour of the year: More than 1,220 kilometers of traffic jams

Thursday was the busiest evening rush hour of the year on the Dutch roadways. At its peak around 5:30 p.m., there were more than 1,220 kilometers of traffic jams. It was especially busy in the vicinity of Rotterdam and Utrecht, as well as in Noord-Brabant, according to the ANWB.

Infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat said that people experienced the most significant delays on the A4 towards Rotterdam. There were 19 kilometers of traffic jams between Zoeterwoude-Dorp and the Ketheltunnel, with a corresponding delay of about 1.5 hours. "There have not been too many accidents, it is just very busy everywhere," said a spokesperson for the ANWB, the Dutch travel association.

The fact that it was so busy on the road on Thursday was partly due to the end of daylight saving time which concluded early Sunday morning when the clock rolled back one hour. This made it darker earlier, causing drivers to maintain more distance because of nightfall.

On Thursdays, it is often busy on the road anyway, as it is a day when more people visit the office. November is also a busy month, according to the spokesperson for the ANWB. Fewer people take vacation during that period.

The previous record this year was around Ascension Day. At the end of May there were more than 1,120 kilometers of traffic jams because many people left for their holiday that evening.