More traffic on the roads expected due to end of the holidays and winter time

Rijkswaterstaat warns that there will be more traffic on the roads again from Monday as the fall vacations end in two regions. The vacations end in the North and Central regions. In the South region, the vacations started a week earlier.

The time change on the clock could also lead to longer traffic jams, according to Rijkswaterstaat, as it will be dark again during the evening rush hour. A week ago, the clock was set back by one hour during the night.

For instance, last week was the busiest Monday evening rush hour since the end of September, according to Rijkswaterstaat. In the evening at around 5:30 p.m., the peak of the traffic jam was reached. A traffic jam around 600 kilometers long was created on the Dutch freeways and provincial roads. “We really didn't expect this, and it really has to do with the winter,” the ANWB tells NU.nl.

“We see this effect every year, but we thought it would be a little less during the fall vacations. People drive more restlessly, brake more often and that causes traffic jams to form more quickly,” NU.nl reports.

Rijkswaterstaat expects normal rush hour traffic on Monday morning and evening. This means that there will be around 350 kilometers of traffic jams on the national roads.