During the second weekend of the school holidays, heavy traffic was already reported on roads to various holiday destinations in Belgium and further afield.
An increasing number of people driving to popular holiday destinations as the construction holidays have started in five Belgian provinces and the school holidays have begun in the southern Netherlands. Belgium's motorways promise to be jammed towards the coast, Luxembourg and Paris.
Mobility organisations Touring and VAB issued a warning of congestion due to the first red traffic weekend on international roads. Southbound travellers are already facing long traffic jams, including in front of the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland, where almost 11 kilometres of traffic jams were recorded on Friday afternoon, and on the A8 from Munich (southern Germany) to Salzburg (Austria).
This weekend will also see the first problems for those returning to Belgium after their holidays, warned Touring. On Sunday, traffic jams are expected around Paris towards Belgium.
Heavy wind and rain as well as thunderstorms in the eastern half of France and the extreme heat recorded in the south are also adding to the difficult driving conditions on certain major roads. Holidaymakers taking the car have been encouraged to leave on Sunday.
Situation in France
French traffic authority Bison Futé has warned that the roads will also be quite busy on the main holiday routes this weekend, issuing a code red, the level just below the heaviest warning code for traffic density (black). The 14 July holiday contributed to this, as many people see this as an opportunity for a long weekend away.
"The holiday departures will be spread over the four days, with a peak of intensity on Saturday on all routes, where heavy congestion is expected. Traffic will be heavy on most of the main routes to the south and the coastal regions. Holidaymakers from northern Europe will be travelling to France in increasing numbers, as their own countries take their school holidays," the agency noted on its website.
On Sunday, the red code will remain in place around Paris, while nationally the code will be lowered to orange, as congestion will continue, especially at the well-known bottlenecks towards the south.
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The French Ministry of Transport is running a new communication campaign aimed at raising road users' awareness of the need to adapt their behaviour on the road works are ongoing. Drivers who fail to slow down or move out of the way could face a fine of €135.
