DRIVERS are being warned of a ‘double dose of delays’ this weekend – with UK motorists planning to make more than 17.9 million road trips.

According to research by the RAC and transport analyst Inrix, almost one-in-four (38%) of journeys over the late-May bank holiday weekend will take place during the first two days – Friday and Saturday (May 23 and 24).

With 3.4m trips expected on those days, Sunday is expected to see 2.7m journeys, with 3m on bank holiday Monday – as half term also gets underway.

Another 5.4m getaway journeys are planned at some point throughout the bank holiday weekend, although drivers are unsure exactly when they’ll set off, the research said.

Experts at the RAC and Inrix said most getaway trips are due to begin before lunchtime – with the best times to hit the road being very early in the morning or into the evening.

A majority (68%) of drivers say they’ll head off at some point between 5am and noon: 14% plan to leave between 5am and 8am, nearly a third (30%) intend to travel mid-morning between 8am and 10am, and a further quarter (24%) will set off later, between 10am and noon.

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Traffic is expected to peter out significantly later in the day, with those that can, advised to leave their journeys as late as possible, RAC analysis said, with just 3% of motorists planning trips between 7pm and 11pm.

As for traffic hotspots, transport experts Inrix warned M25 users to plan well ahead, as the UK’s busiest motorway is expected to bear the brunt of the worst delays.

Elsewhere, multiple routes connecting the West Country to the rest of the UK – including the M5 through Somerset – are expected to carry the lion’s share of journeys on Saturday (May 24).

Stretches of the A30 westbound towards Okehampton, the M5 southbound to Bridgwater and the A303 westbound past Stonehenge may suffer hold-ups of up to 55 minutes more than usual.

With the bank holiday weekend marking the start of the school half-term break in many parts of the UK, there’s little reprieve for drivers travelling home back on Friday, May 30, when return journey times are expected to increase across the country by more than a third (35%).