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Saturday

M2

The best time to drive the M2 on a Saturday

GO19:00Quietest daytime hour, 55 mph average
AVOID10:00Busiest daytime hour, 52 mph average
Photo: David Dixon, Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0, resized

On a Saturday the M2 is quietest at 19:00, averaging 55 mph, and busiest at 10:00, averaging 52 mph. Measured from National Highways roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, not estimated.

  • Measured, not estimated
  • 1 May 2026 to 15 June 2026

Every hour of a Saturday

Darker means slower
  1. 00:0053mphnormal speed
  2. 01:0053mph4% below normal
  3. 02:0051mph8% below normal
  4. 03:0051mph8% below normal
  5. 04:0050mph7% below normal
  6. 05:0052mph5% below normal
  7. 06:0053mphnormal speed
  8. 07:0053mphnormal speed
  9. 08:0053mphnormal speed
  10. 09:0053mph3% below normal
  11. 10:0052mph5% below normal
  12. 11:0053mphnormal speed
  13. 12:0054mphnormal speed
  14. 13:0054mphnormal speed
  15. 14:0054mphnormal speed
  16. 15:0054mphnormal speed
  17. 16:0054mphnormal speed
  18. 17:0055mphnormal speed
  19. 18:0055mphnormal speed
  20. 19:0055mphnormal speed
  21. 20:0055mphnormal speed
  22. 21:0053mph4% below normal
  23. 22:0052mph4% below normal
  24. 23:0052mph4% below normal

Across the day that is roughly 2 percentage points closer to free-flowing than the M2's average day, so Saturday is one of the easier days to travel on this road. Hours outside 06:00 to 22:00 are shown but greyed: the small hours are the fastest on almost every road in England, which is true and useless for planning. Averaged across 5 sensors on the M2.

Minutes you save on a Saturday

Quietest against busiest hour
19:00
55 mph
55 min
10:00
52 mph
58 min

3 minsaved on a 50-mile trip

Other trip lengths: 10 miles saves 1 min, 25 miles saves 2 min. Worked out from the average speed along the whole M2 at each hour, so a trip through its worst junction at rush hour loses more than this.

Questions about the M2 on a Saturday

What is the best time to drive the M2 on a Saturday?

On a Saturday the quietest hour on the M2 is 19:00, when traffic averages 55 mph. That is a measured average from National Highways roadside sensors on the road itself, recorded between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, rather than an estimate. Only 06:00 to 22:00 is considered, because the small hours are the fastest on almost every road in England and saying so helps nobody plan a journey. Roadworks, collisions and weather are not in the average, so it describes what this Saturday usually looks like rather than what today will look like.

What time is the M2 busiest on a Saturday?

The busiest hour on the M2 on a Saturday is 10:00, averaging 52 mph, about 5% below the speed the road runs at when it is clear. The comparison is against this road's own free-flowing speed, so "slower" means slower than the M2 normally manages rather than slower than some national figure. Measured from roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026. It is an archive of the usual pattern, not a live reading, so check conditions before you set off.

The M2 on other days

Same road, different day

Every road on a Saturday

The whole week on the M2What is closed on the M2 now