Driving home for Christmas: How to stay safe on the road

It’s not actually a legal requirement to play that particular Chris Rea song while you’re driving home for Christmas, but we bet a significant percentage of people on the roads this December across the UK will do so.

Quite aside from digging out old CDs or setting up a Spotify playlist, there are a number of things you really ought to do before setting out for home or holidays this Christmas. Here’s a handy checklist…

Work out your route before you go

Look, it’s going to be a nightmare on the roads coming up to Christmas. The AA already reckons that as many as 23 million people will be on the roads over the festive season and apparently Friday the 20th of December — the last Friday before the big day, when many schools will be closing and offices shutting down — is going to be the worst day of all. So; first of all, expect congestion. And then secondly; have a plan for dealing with it. Work out your route before you go, and it’s a good tip to bring along a proper paper road map as well as relying on navigation apps such as Google Maps or Waze — a paper map helps to orient you better, and you can find alternative routes if the way you planned to go grinds to a halt. Also, just accept that there are going to be delays and load up on music, podcasts, snacks and drinks to help you endure it all.

Know the traffic black spots

While the AA’s research says that the fact that Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday this year should help to spread out the traffic load a bit, the fact is that there are parts of the country where we already know there are going to be big delays. The worst affected are likely to be the M4/M5 interchange near Bristol; the M25 near Heathrow Airport (no surprise there); the M5/M6 interchange at Birmingham; the M60 in Manchester; and the M1 near Sheffield. If you can, avoid those areas in the run-up to the big day. If you can’t, come prepared for delays and leave yourself plenty of extra travel time.

Plan your packing

Packing for Christmas, especially if there are kids involved, can be a fraught business. Presents might have to be hidden away in the car, and then there’s the sheer volume of stuff to bring. We know a family of three who once filled a Land Rover Discovery at Christmas to the point where they couldn’t see out the back window anymore! So try and trim your packing a bit if you can, and maybe leave time to do a practice pack before leaving. Remember that you might need to access some of the stuff you’ve packed en route — warm jumpers, perhaps — and always remember that if you get a flat tyre, everything’s going to have to come out…

Plan for snow

Snow is always a possibility at Christmas, and if you live in certain parts of the country — the north of Scotland, the Yorkshire Dales — it’s more or less guaranteed. The UK’s Met Office suggests that snow is a possibility in 2024, and it is predicted to fall between Christmas Eve and January 7th. If it does, it pays to be prepared — make sure you have an ice-scraper and de-icer in the car. Also, pack spare warm clothes, a torch, and some water and snacks in case you suffer a snowy breakdown. It’s never a bad idea to throw a set of snow-socks for your tyres — stretchy fabric covers that increase your grip in slippery conditions — into the boot for emergencies. Extra windscreen washer fluid is a good idea too, and maybe make sure your roadside recovery subscription is all paid up.

We also have a guide on how to drive safely in snowy conditions, so be sure to check that out before you head off, too.

Remember to enjoy it

There’s a whole lot of stress when it comes to packing up the car for Christmas, dealing with the traffic, worrying about the weather, and informing people in the back that no, we are not there yet. So try and remember to introduce a little bit of Zen into it all and actually enjoy yourself. You might be dealing with congestion or dodging snow showers, but you’re driving your family across the country at Christmas, with the promise of a hot turkey (or vegan alternative) meal – and hey, maybe even a nice new pair of socks – at the end of it.

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