Plan your trip to avoid the stress of holiday gridlock (From Barry And District News)

Plan your trip to avoid the stress of holiday gridlock

Think of any holiday period be it Christmas, Easter or the summer bank holidays and they all have one thing in common. Rain would be the obvious choice or maybe the family arguments. Both are good, but they're not right because, according to the RAC, the one thing that characterises traditional holiday times in Britain is gridlock.

Yes, it's our old favourite the traffic jam, guaranteed to ruin any holiday. This needn't be the case, though, because, while the queues themselves are often unavoidable, the RAC has come up with some useful tips to help combat the stress associated with a gridlocked road.

Take plenty of equipment to keep the kids entertained. Sweets, drinks, games and toys are all useful for relieving the boredom. Plan the route, and an alternative. Plan breaks into the schedule, a 20-minute break every two hours is ideal if travelling with a young family.

Leaving late at night or in the early hours can improve your chances of missing the jams but it also represents the peak time for fatigue-related accidents.

Make sure the car is well ventilated. If you have air-conditioning use it. It will help to calm over-heated tempers as well as temperatures. Above all, enjoy your holiday.