The forthcoming August Bank Holiday Monday is likely to mean a period of heightened risk on UK roadways, according to new data from road safety experts at Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT). 

Last year, 17.6 million drivers across England and Wales took to the roads over the Bank Holiday weekend. And according to the Department for Transport’s STATS19 collision database, there have been more fatal collisions each August since 2023 than in a typical month, with afternoons being particularly dangerous. 

CMT analysed more than 16 million drives throughout the UK from 2023 to 2025 to understand how risky driving behaviour changes during the holiday. Comparing phone screen interaction and speeding on the August Bank Holiday with similar Mondays in the surrounding weeks, hour by hour, CMT found that distraction and speeding are significantly elevated throughout the day. 

Key findings from CMT for holiday drivers include:

–      The final summer holiday comes with a significant spike in risky driving in the UK – distraction rises 15% and speeding 23% throughout the day compared with similar Mondays.

–      The distraction increase peaks early – hitting 23.6% higher than normal from 07:00 to 11:00, as drivers take to the roads for Bank Holiday trips. 

–      Speeding also sees the sharpest increase early in the morning – jumping 182.7% at 0700, and remaining 37.2% above normal from 09:00-11:00.

–      High-risk behaviour also occurs during particularly dangerous afternoon hours – from 12:00-16:00 (when the UK sees 42% more fatal collisions in August than the rest of the year), distraction and speeding spike 23% and 41% respectively during the Bank Holiday. 

The full analysis can be accessed HERE.

(Picture: Yay Images)