Is traffic worse on Thursday or Friday?

A lot of people take Fridays off for long weekends. And many that do go in on Fridays go in late and/or leave early. In anticipation - and in buildup from the rest of the week - people are especially regimented on Thursdays and hit the road at normal rush hour times, creating a relatively unusual glut of traffic.



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If you are looking for the best day to drive long-distance, Sunday is the day that tends to have the least amount of traffic on the roads. However, Tuesdays have the least amount of crashes according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

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Americans spend nearly 100 hours each year in traffic, which costs billions in dollars for the U.S. for wear on cars and gas money. Specific days of the year come with different traffic issues, including the two days before Christmas, the day before Thanksgiving, and the day before Independence Day.

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Many people think it's easier to drive into work on Friday morning, the theory being that lots of people end their working week on Thursday so that they can take a long weekend.

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Traffic tends to be worse on Fridays for several reasons: Commuters leaving early for the weekend: Many people choose to leave work early on Fridays to start their weekend activities. This creates more traffic on the roads during peak hours.

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What are the quietest days to drive? Commuting is a little quieter on Mondays in many UK cities. Sunday is often the best day to go on a sightseeing trip whilst avoiding traffic – especially if you set off earlier on before many of the shops open and the usual 'Sunday drivers' venture out.

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Travelling in the morning before 10am on the weekend days, or after 7pm, is your best bet of avoiding the jams, according to the RAC. Separate research by the RAC suggests that July and August will see 26% of the total driving population using their cars to go on holiday in the UK.

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As most commuters know, some days are worse than others. Pile high demand (say, a Friday before a three-day weekend) on top of heavy rain and a lane-blocking crash, and you've got the ingredients for severe congestion.

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And our roads are getting worse every year. According to Inrix, drivers spend more time stuck on gridlocked streets in London than in any other city on the planet. In 2022, our road hogs lost a whopping 156 hours each to congestion. (Up from 148 hours in 2021, and 5 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.)

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While mornings and afternoons are safer, there are some exceptions. Rush hour traffic, which typically runs from 8 AM to 10 AM in the morning, and then again from 4 PM to 7 PM in the evening, plays a part in safety too. With the influx of cars at these peak times, the roads become more dangerous.

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