The School Crawl
The term time trudge or holiday heaven. We reveal the impact of school run traffic on our roads.
Anyone who commutes to work by car can’t fail to notice how much quieter the roads are during the school holidays. Every few weeks of the year, there are days when driving early in the morning or late afternoon is just a bit calmer and traffic jams less common. Well we’ve looked into the stats to see just how much the extra school run traffic affects our journeys and also how it can even result in more road accidents.
The average commute during term time is 32 minutes
The average commute during the school holidays is 26 minutes
That’s the equivalent of an hour a week saved
How much time do drivers estimate they save on their commute during the school holidays?
Research based on survey of 2,000 commuters conducted March 2019. Further details available on request
So what do they do with
the extra time?
23% spend more time in bed
18% set off at same time, but come home earlier
18% spend more time getting ready for work
18% spend more time with my family
14% eat breakfast at home instead of at work
Say it’s less stressful getting to work during the holidays than during term time
Say they enjoy having more time at home during the school holidays as the commute is quicker
Think that too many parents drive their children to school during term time
So what about the parents who drive their kids to school or nursery?
The top reasons why parents choose to drive their kids to school or nursery:
There are also fewer road accidents in school run hours during the school holidays
Throughout the morning school run hours, there are 43% fewer road accidents during the school holidays than during term time. In the afternoon school run there are 11% fewer accidents during term time than in the school holidays.*
(*Data from 2014 – 2016. School run hours defined as 8am and 9am, 3pm and 4pm Monday to Friday)