Why is evening rush hour worse than morning?

Largely because schools get out around that time. Put together the school and after school activity with the end of the work day for people who work 6:30 to 3:00, plus shoppers, and you can get more chaotic traffic than when most of the traffic is either coming from or going to work.



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Their explanation: There may be many reasons, but the biggest one is that in the morning, people usually have a single destination in mind: getting to school or work. In the evening, people leave work at different times, and often run errands, go to dinner, shop, etc., driving more total miles.

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Before the pandemic, traffic in most U.S. cities followed a similar pattern: a peak around 6 a.m. and another, slightly higher one around 5 p.m. But now, the number of drivers on the road increases throughout the day, with a sharp rise in the morning that balloons into a higher peak in the evening.

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A number of people commute to places in the week and so need to commute back home on Fridays. Additionally, people will resist working late on Friday and these factors lead to traffic peaks in the evening rush hour. Monday mornings tend to be bad too.

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The NHTSA reports that most accidents occur during rush hour, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. And according to the NHTSA, Saturday is the most dangerous day of the week to drive, primarily because there are more cars – and more drunk drivers – on the road than any other day.

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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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Today, it's best to get on the roads before 7 a.m. and tomorrow before 11 a.m. As for the weekend, the best times on Saturday and Monday are in the evening, around 6 or 7 p.m. Experts say that Sunday is statistically the lightest traffic day so that might be a good time to hit the road, as well.

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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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If you think you have it bad, you may want to spare a few moments to sympathise with drivers in London. According to our research, motorists in the capital spend 156 hours in traffic each year, with Thursdays between 5pm and 6pm being the most congested time of the week.

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Usually, more drivers are on the road between 6 to 8 in the morning and 4 to 6 in the evening in heavy rush hour traffic. You should also expect traffic jams along busy expressways and during holidays and game days.

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Largely because schools get out around that time. Put together the school and after school activity with the end of the work day for people who work 6:30 to 3:00, plus shoppers, and you can get more chaotic traffic than when most of the traffic is either coming from or going to work.

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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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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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