We are already in the middle of summer and we will start to see and experience traffic jams on Fridays and Sundays, as is customary in our country. Everyone thinks they know the best time to get around, but there are often miles of queues. 11Onze analyses it.

The summer of 2020 was fully marked by the restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. Maybe that’s why this 2021 we are looking forward to leaving. The possibility of taking a plane for a trip, whether domestic or abroad, is already a reality, but even so, the aeronautical experience will still not be the same as before the pandemic.

For this reason, many road trips are expected, like many summers, and consequently long queues. We already had an apéritif for Easter and for the Sant Joan long weekend. 

Mobility forecasts

If we pay attention to the information provided by the Catalan Traffic Service, when high mobility is foreseen, as in the case of departure or return operations, special traffic, management, and traffic regulation measures are put in place: additional lanes and lanes in the opposite direction to the usual; inversion of priorities in roundabouts; cancellation of slow or incorporation lanes; or change in the normal operation of the HOV BUS lane.

Still, there are many times that this attempt to improve traffic flow doesn’t seem to be effective, so how do we manage avoiding getting stuck in a huge queue of cars?

The best time slot to travel by car

Is there a better time to drive without traffic jams, or is it a fallacy? The truth is that it is really difficult to get it right, because we always believe that the decision made is the right one so as not to get stuck again, but we end up queuing at the toll, to get on the highway, or to get out of it.

The RACC and the Catalan Traffic Service have sections on their websites in which they give mobility advice. One of the most important, that many of us do not follow, is to consult the traffic condition before leaving. But it is also interesting to note the time slots in which a greater influx of vehicles is expected on the road, which vary according to the departure operation we face, although the variation is negligible.

Thus, the usual forecast is as follows:

Obviously, the departure is not always on Friday, nor the return on Sunday, as it often coincides with the beginning and end of the summer fortnights. But in any case, it is interesting to consider these hours as a guide.

We can even find a forecast calendar for special traffic operations, which, at the close of this article, is marked every weekend in July 2021, in which a high intensity of traffic is expected.

Avoiding queues or getting out of them

As we have seen, avoiding queues is difficult, but not entirely impossible. Getting out of a traffic jam is a different thing, as we insist on staying on it because it is the fastest route (if we are in it, it is not very fast at that time), or because it is the route we always take.

Following the mobility tips, if we have planned the route correctly, we should have planned an alternative route in case we encounter problems, so that the moment we find a detour or an exit from the congested road, we can take it and access the route that will take us to our destination, possibly more quickly and comfortably.

Of course, first check the state of the traffic, in case you end up in the same situation.

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