Britain’s roads at busiest since coronavirus crisis began with journeys up by over a fifth
BRITAIN'S roads are at their busiest level since the coronavirus crisis began - with car journeys up by over a fifth.
Traffic has been crawling on motorways and roads today despite the government urging people to only get behind the wheel if it is essential.
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Figures from the AA show roads were busier on Friday and over the weekend since lockdown was first imposed on March 23.
Journeys were up by almost a fifth in total when compared with a typical day earlier in April as restless Brits try to "break the boredom" of lockdown.
Pictures taken today show the roads packed with cars as the UK slowly creeps back to life.
It is a stark contrast to the start of the drastic Covid-19 rules when the roads were virtually empty.
'BREAK THE BOREDOM'
The AA said that more drivers may now be seeking to “break the boredom of the lockdown or escape family conflicts”.
Edmund King, the president of the AA, said: “Our analysis clearly shows an increase in car trips building by the day last week. Even though trips dropped off at the weekend, this Saturday and Sunday were the busiest since lockdown began.
"The advice remains that only essential journeys should be made by car. One unnecessary journey leading to a crash can tie up essential emergency services for hours.”
Sat Nav company Tom Tom found the level of congestion in London at 8am yesterday was at 14 per cent - up from one per cent a week earlier.
While the government revealed yesterday traffic volumes on Saturday were 62 per cent lower than the first week of February, but up five percentage points on the previous Saturday.
Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said at the No10 briefing the “great majority of people are continuing to honour the lockdown”.
But he admitted that there was a “very slight trending up in terms of motor vehicles”.
More Brits have been venturing outside in recent weeks - sparking fears people have developed lockdown fatigue after being forced to stay at home for six weeks to stop the spread of the virus.
Brits at the weekend hit parks and DIY stores despite repeated warnings to stay home.
Pictures showed queues of people snaking around car parks after hardware stores were labelled "essential" during the coronavirus crisis.
Boris Johnson yesterday urged people to "contain your impatience" as he returned to work after his own battle with the disease.
Speaking outside No10, the PM said "we simply cannot spell out now how fast, slow or when changes to restrictions will be made" to the lockdown.
He added: "It is still true that this is the biggest single challenge this country has faced since the war and I in no way minimise the continuing problems we face.
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"And yet it is also true that we are making progress with fewer hospital admissions, fewer Covid patients in ICU and real signs now that we are passing through the peak.
"And thanks to your forbearance, your good sense your altruism, your spirit of community, thanks to our collective national resolve, we are on the brink of achieving that first clear mission to prevent our National Health Service from being overwhelmed in a way that tragically we have seen elsewhere.
"And that is how and why we are now beginning to turn the tide."
