It seems that the government’s advice to stay home to prevent the spread of coronavirus has stuck a cord with many motorists, as car journeys dropped by around 80 per cent over the Easter weekend.
According to a study of over 15,000 car journeys by the AA, weekday journeys have dropped by around 60 per cent, then a further 10 per cent on Saturdays, reaching towards 80 per cent on Sundays.
Edmund King, the AA’s president said: “For the most part, families and car drivers respected the lockdown and didn’t revert to the usual Easter exodus, travelling to see friends or out into the country for exercise.”
The lockdown saw many motorways across the UK virtually empty as people respected the stay at home government advice, despite the sunny weather conditions.
“Empty motorways were a testament to car owners heeding the government advice and not taking a holiday from the lockdown,” he continued.
The news will come as some relief to the government who’s mantra of “Stay at home, Save the NHS, Save Lives” has been repeated to the public, and while police noted the roads were significantly quieter, there were reports of some motorists driving at excessive speed.
“Speeding has led to several crashes over the last few days which ties up the resources of the emergency services, the NHS and potentially takes up precious hospital beds,” Mr King concluded.
