Measured by National Highways roadside sensors
Is the morning or evening rush hour worse?
The morning
The morning rush hour is worse on most roads that have a clear rush hour at both ends of the day. Of the 11 measured roads with both a morning and an evening rush, the evening peak is slower on 3 and the morning peak on 8. At its worst hour the typical road runs 17% below normal in the morning and 16% in the evening. Measured between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026.
The evidence
Every road in the comparison| Road | Morning peak | Evening peak | Worse |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 07:00, 17% below | No clear rush | - |
| A1(M) | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| A2 | 07:00, 17% below | No clear rush | - |
| A3 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| A14 | No clear rush | 16:00, 15% below | - |
| A27 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| A42 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M1 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M2 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M3 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M4 | 07:00, 12% below | 17:00, 10% below | Morning |
| M5 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M6 | 08:00, 17% below | 17:00, 15% below | Morning |
| M11 | No clear rush | 16:00, 17% below | - |
| M18 | 08:00, 28% below | 16:00, 19% below | Morning |
| M20 | No clear rush | 16:00, 9% below | - |
| M23 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M25 | 07:00, 19% below | 16:00, 22% below | Evening |
| M27 | 08:00, 14% below | 16:00, 11% below | Morning |
| M32 | 08:00, 25% below | 16:00, 20% below | Morning |
| M40 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M42 | 08:00, 14% below | 16:00, 16% below | Evening |
| M49 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M54 | No clear rush | 16:00, 15% below | - |
| M55 | 08:00, 14% below | 17:00, 12% below | Morning |
| M56 | 08:00, 13% below | 16:00, 18% below | Evening |
| M60 | 08:00, 25% below | 16:00, 22% below | Morning |
| M61 | 07:00, 21% below | No clear rush | - |
| M62 | 07:00, 18% below | 16:00, 16% below | Morning |
| M65 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M66 | No clear rush | 16:00, 12% below | - |
| M67 | 07:00, 11% below | No clear rush | - |
| M69 | No clear rush | No clear rush | - |
| M602 | 08:00, 9% below | No clear rush | - |
| M621 | No clear rush | 16:00, 18% below | - |
How this is worked out
Weekdays only. Each road’s morning and evening peaks are its slowest hours between 05:00 and 11:00 and between 14:00 and 20:00, from the same method as the rush hour times page. Measured by National Highways roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026 on 35 roads with at least 5 sensors each. Each figure is the typical (median) road, so one unusual road cannot decide it. Typical patterns from the archive, not live traffic. The full method.