Trip in the summer vacation - Long delays on motorways, but no chaos
With the school holidays starting in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, there were long traffic jams on German autobahns on Friday. Now, all federal states have summer holidays. Traffic jammed up to a total length of about 1,000 kilometers, according to the Automobile Club ADAC. This traffic congestion was to be expected. For example, on the A2 from Hannover towards Dortmund, drivers had to plan an extra hour in the afternoon.
The weekend is traditionally the most congested time of the year according to ADAC surveys. "Sunday should be just as congested as Saturday," said a spokesperson. The longest traffic jams were measured on the A8 from Munich towards Salzburg and on the A81 from Stuttgart towards Heilbronn – here, cars were lined up approximately 25 kilometers long. The heaviest traffic jams took about an hour.
Where is the traffic congestion the worst?
Traffic seemed to be fairly evenly distributed throughout the republic. While families from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were just starting their holidays, many holidaymakers from northern states were on their way back. "A second wave is rolling out from Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," analyzed auto experts. The situation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was less tense than in the rest.
Traffic in NRW remained relatively unaffected at first. "Not all of NRW sinks into a traffic jam on Friday afternoon," said an ADAC Nordrhein spokesperson to the German Press Agency. "We have experienced worse Fridays in NRW. We have not yet reached the 300-kilometer traffic jam mark. It's not much different than on an ordinary Friday with commuter traffic."
Already in the morning, there was a traffic jam on the A7 towards Hamburg between the interchange Walsrode and the Soltau-Ost exit, lasting 16 kilometers.
The autobahns with the greatest traffic congestion risk in both directions, according to ADAC, are reportedly in the metropolitan areas of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. With the most construction stops, one can count on autobahn construction sites where lanes are reduced or especially long.
The "worst traffic jams" listed by ADAC included approximately the A7 between Hamburg and Flensburg and the A6 between Mannheim and Nuremberg – it can get very tight in both directions there.
What can one do to arrive more or less on time?
The grim forecast comes from ADAC due to experience from the previous year. The last July weekend in the holiday season 2023 was the most congested of the year. To avoid the heaviest traffic, vacationers should ideally not leave on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays – or if they must, then only in the late afternoon, recommends the traffic club. In addition, more time should be planned. To avoid waiting times at toll stations, necessary vignettes can be purchased in advance.
For those traveling by train, patience is also required. The Munich airport expects over six million passengers in the coming holiday weeks, alone 400,000 passengers on the first weekend. The recommendation: build in a time buffer.
The longest traffic jam of the year, according to ADAC, occurred on January 18th. On the A61 between Ludwigshafen and Mönchengladbach, there was a traffic jam that stretched for a length of 77 kilometers. The reason was reportedly freezing rain.
- Despite the traffic congestion, families in Dortmund were preparing for their summer vacation.
- Hamburg residents were also making their way for their vacation, contributing to the heavy traffic on the autobahns.
- Some travelers opted for leisurely drives through Bavaria to avoid the weekend traffic.
- Stuttgart residents found alternative routes to avoid the long jams on the A81 towards Heilbronn.
- In North Rhine-Westphalia, particularly in Hannover, traffic was moving more smoothly compared to other states.
- Travelers heading towards Munich on the autobahn faced considerable delays due to the heavy traffic.
- Even in the city of Heilbronn, there were reports of traffic jams on the A6 towards Bavaria.
- In Baden-Württemberg, the traffic on the A8 from Stuttgart towards Salzburg was particularly congested.
- Those traveling from Berlin to North Rhine-Westphalia had to deal with traffic jams on the A2 towards Dortmund.
- Salzburg, Austria, was another destination that faced traffic congestion from German vacationers using the autobahn.
- In an attempt to avoid traffic, some vacationers decided to travel through Hannover and take the A7 towards Hamburg, instead of heading direct to Dortmund.
