RACQ reveals best time to beat Bruce Hwy Gridlock at Christmas break

Queensland’s peak motoring body has revealed the best times drivers should hit the highway across the holiday break.

Australia’s peak motoring body has revealed the best times drivers should hit the Bruce Hwy across the holiday break.

Everybody loves a holiday across the Christmas break, but few are fans of the oft-hours long wait in traffic to get there.

Tens of thousands of drivers are expected to travel the Bruce Hwy across the next few days as they head out to enjoy their slice of paradise for the holidays, be it on the beach or with family.

It turns out there are golden times to hit the road too, RACQ’s Traffic and Safety Engineering Manager Greg Miszkowycz said.

Mr Miszkowycz said the congestion should be expected from Friday December 22, from about 10am “and extending into the afternoon as drivers head off to start their holidays”.

“On Christmas Eve, typically between 10am and 2pm are the busiest times on the road.

“Delays are also likely on Boxing Day and Wednesday 27 December as people return home after the Christmas long weekend.”

Queensland’s peak motoring body said drivers should expect congestion on Boxing Day and December 27 and people return from their Christmas holidays.

He said drivers keen to “beat the rush” are best to “leave early in the morning as long as you’ve had sufficient rest overnight”.

Mir Miszkowycz said drivers should consider potential delays from roadworks into their travel times, too.

“The holidays are the perfect time to hit the road and explore Queensland with the family, but longer drives do come with added dangers.

“On road trips, many people drive on roads they are unfamiliar with, and they are often driving for longer distances, so it’s really important to make sure you are well rested, taking at least a 15-minute break every two hours, not driving more than around eight hours per day, and paying your full attention to the road and the conditions.”

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The pleas for road safety and driver care follow a year in which the Wide Bay Burnett grappled with an horrific road toll.

Forty-five people have lost their lives on the region’s roads in 2023, with the latest fatality in an horrific crash at Kanigan on Thursday night which killed a 41-year-old Sunshine Coast woman and cut the Bruce Hwy for several hours.

A 23-year-old man suffered serious injuries in the crash and was taken to Gympie Hospital.